Survey of body donation programs in the US concerning the use of donor personal information with medical students

Body donor programs need to balance ethical concerns and educational needs. Among donor programs in the US, there is variability in the amount of donor personal information that is provided to medical students. This study assesses this variability and investigates the reasons for the variability among donor programs. Telephone interviews and email surveys were used to collect information concerning the provision and use of donor personal information with medical students. One hundred fifty-one donor programs in the US were contacted via email or telephone interview or both. Fifty-three donor programs responded to the survey or participated in the telephone interview. The survey results show variation, not only in the amount of donor personal information provided to medical students, but also in the attitudes and beliefs of the donor program personnel concerning donor personal information. This research documents the variability of the educational use of donor personal information. It is hoped that this description of the various approaches to using donor information will encourage the ethical use of donor information within the context of medical education. Clin. Anat. 30:445-449, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.