ATSU community gathers to express gratitude to donors, families, in annual Gift of Body Ceremony
Posted: October 17, 2024
For family members and friends of those who have donated their body to A.T. Still University (ATSU), the annual Gift of Body Ceremony offers an opportunity for closure.
For ATSU students, faculty, staff, and alumni, it’s an opportunity to express profound gratitude for the donor’s decision and support of their loved ones, and attempt to put into words what those gifts mean not only now, but for their futures in healthcare.
“The sacrifice of donating a loved one to this experience, it’s brave,” said ATSU-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) Associate Professor of Anatomy Jeremy Houser, PhD. “It’s an experience that has extended your grieving process, and we see that, and we know that. We still want you to know the benefits that have come from this.
“Your loved one was (the students’) first patient. Taught them humanity, emotional intelligence. That’s going to benefit them as clinicians for the rest of their careers. It’s going to benefit each patient they encounter. It’s going to benefit society as a whole.”
ATSU-KCOM and ATSU-Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health students gathered Wednesday in Kirksville, Missouri’s Forest-Llewellyn Cemetery, near a tombstone inscribed, “In memory of those who have donated their body to medical science.”
Including a rendition of “Amazing Grace” by ATSU’s student a capella group, the MEDleys, the event featured student speakers representing different organizations, providing perspectives on their experiences in the anatomy lab.
“One of the most important and intimate gifts is that of our bodies and of our lives here on Earth. These stay with us until we die. No matter how hard we try in this life, we cannot be separated from them,” said ATSU-KCOM student Michael Geer, OMS II, president of the Christian Medical and Dental Association. “The act of giving up something so intimate for the pursuit of medical education is an immeasurably generous gift, one that I and my fellow students are exceptionally thankful for. It has been truly an honor to learn and understand the human body in this way.”
“Your family members made a remarkable decision. They gave us the gift of learning, the gift of understanding, and the gift of progress,” said ATSU-KCOM student Becca Rajagopal, OMS II, representing the Indian Student Association. “Their contributions will forever resonate in clinics, hospitals, and communities where we will serve. Every lesson learned, every procedure practiced, and every patient treated will carry a piece of their legacy.”
“The gifts you have shared with us have helped us fulfill our purpose in being at this school. Because of your loved ones, we will be better doctors. We will be able to help our future patients that may be struggling,” said ATSU-KCOM student Noelle Nerenberg, OMS II, president of the Latter-Day Saints Student Association. “And because of the things we’ve learned from your loved ones, we will be a little bit closer to becoming the physicians we set out to be.”
Also speaking was April McCormick, mother of ATSU-KCOM student Sophia McCormick, OMS II. Shortly after her daughter enrolled, April made the decision to complete the forms to eventually donate her body to the University.
She doesn’t plan for that to happen anytime soon, but April felt it was important to take those steps and join those who have already donated their bodies for study, providing, she said, a “once in a lifetime opportunity to gain vast and immeasurable amounts of knowledge that could never be replicated with books, videos, or 3D models.”
“Without reservation, I completely trust these students and the professors to give the best care to my body, so that they can someday give the best care to their patients,” April said.
ATSU-KCOM alumnus Baydon Hilton, DO, ’19, provided thoughts from a vantage point of having completed medical school, able to look back upon those experiences and how they’ve prepared him to best serve his patients.
“These med students and dental students have keys now to information they could get in no other way,” Dr. Hilton said. “By being able to spend time learning, discovering, and processing the gift that you and your family members gave, allows them to now be able to move forward and make new discoveries as they continue to practice medicine in wholesome and appropriate ways.”
Learn more about ATSU’s Gift of Body program here.
