Episode details

Radio 4,07 May 2025,28 mins
Bodies
Available for over a year
The London Anatomy Office accepts around 350 human bodies donated for medical research and education annually. You may imagine that these bodies are persevered in chemicals for medical students to study over weeks and months. And some are. But many are used - almost fresh - to train surgeons in the procedures which may one day save your life. Journalist Jenny Kleeman gains rare access to a surgical training course at Brighton and Sussex Medical School which uses these "fresh" donor bodies. She talks to the people who work with them every day and the surgeons who have come to be trained to find out how they feel about the people who have given the ultimate gift and if we still need real human cadavers in medical education. For further information on body donation please search for the Human Tissue Authority to find your nearest medical school. Presenter: Jenny Kleeman Producer: Ella Hubber Editor: Martin Smith Production Coordinator: Jana Holesworth
Programme Website