Abstract Background: Body donation is essential for anatomy teaching and medical training. Despite increasing awareness initiatives, many misconceptions regarding consent, legal procedures, and practical aspects of body donation persist. Medical students, particularly in their early years, play a crucial role in shaping future attitudes toward voluntary body donation. Objectives: To assess the awareness, attitudes, and beliefs regarding body donation among first-year MBBS students at a medical college in Rajasthan. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among first-year MBBS students using a 14-item pre-validated questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed demographic details, knowledge about body donation, attitudes toward cadaveric donation, and perceptions related to consent and institutional roles. The survey was administered via Google Forms, and participation was voluntary with informed consent. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0, and results were expressed as descriptive statistics. Results: Out of 250 questionnaires distributed, 183 were returned, yielding a response rate of 73%. Most participants (88.7%) were aged 18–20 years. Awareness of the institutional body donation program was reported by 89.4% of students. A majority (96.1%) acknowledged the indispensability of body donation for anatomy teaching. At the same time, 69.1% understood that consent involves multiple stakeholders, but knowledge of specific authorities varied. Most students showed high comfort levels toward body donation and expressed willingness to recommend it to others. However, uncertainty existed regarding the permissible time frame for body donation after death. Conclusion: First-year MBBS students demonstrated positive attitudes and satisfactory awareness regarding body donation, but gaps remain in procedural and legal knowledge. Early structured sensitization within the medical curriculum may help bridge these gaps and promote informed voluntary body donation.
Sharma et al. (Thu,) studied this question.