By Assoc. Prof. Erisa Mwaka and Joyce Nabukalu-Kiwanuka
In every hospital, there is a moment when knowledge becomes a matter of life and death. A doctor must know where to place an incision, how to avoid damaging major organs, how to identify a nerve, how to deliver a baby safely, how to interpret a scan, or how to explain disease to a worried family. That knowledge does not begin in the operating theatre, it begins much earlier, in the anatomy laboratory.
For generations, the study of the human body has been the foundation of medical education. The regular use of human bodies for medical training purposes began in the late Middle Ages and spread during the 18th and 19th centuries. Initially, anatomists depended on gallows, poor houses, mental asylums, or jails as sources of bodies. However, the 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of wilful body donation. Before students become doctors, surgeons, dentists, nurses, physiotherapists, radiographers, and other health professionals, they must first understand the human body in its real form. They must learn not only from books and diagrams, but from the body itself. This is why cadavers, though silent, remain the most important teachers in medical education. In simple terms, a cadaver is a dead human body used by health professions students to study anatomy; and Anatomy is the study of the physical structure and organization of the human body, both at macroscopic and microscopic levels.
As the Department of Anatomy at Makerere University College of Health Sciences prepares to commemorate the “silent teachers” whose bodies are used for medical education on June 11, 2026, Uganda is invited to reflect on a subject that is rarely discussed in the public domain, willed body donation. Body donation simply means a person willfully donates their body for educational purposes after death, and consent to it in life. This is a sensitive topic, but it is also a deeply human one. It touches our beliefs, families, culture, understanding of death, and responsibility to future generations.This commemoration ceremony is not symbolic but, it is a public statement that the contribution of silent teachers is sacred, educational, and deeply appreciated.
To donate one’s body after death is not an ordinary decision; it is an altruistic act of extraordinary generosity. It is a final gift to society. It allows health professions students to learn and appreciate the human body before they treat living patients. Cadavers are therefore not “specimens”, they are silent teachers and partners in medical education who continue to serve humanity even after death. Learning anatomy using a cadaver helps students to understand and appreciate the complexity of the human body, appreciate its natural variations, and develop the confidence and competence needed to serve the public. Students are also taught laboratory etiquette that emphasises dignity, empathy, and utmost respect for the cadavers, which attributes they carry into the clinical years when they interface with hospital patients.
In Uganda, where the demand for health workers continues to grow, medical education must be strengthened at every level. Our country needs well-trained doctors and health professionals who can serve in hospitals, health centres, universities, research institutions, and communities. But good training requires good teaching resources. One of these resources are the silent teachers who never complain, but impart immeasurable knowledge to future health professionals. Modern technology has introduced many useful tools into medical education. Students can now learn from videos, computer applications, digital images, plastic models, three-dimensional models, and virtual platforms. These tools are important and should be embraced, however, they cannot completely replace learning from the real human body. A cadaver teaches what a diagram cannot fully show; the true position of organs, the texture of tissues, the relationship between structures, and the natural differences that exist from one person to another. More importantly, cadaver-based learning teaches respect. It reminds students that medicine is not simply a technical profession, it is a calling rooted in human dignity. The first lesson students learn in the anatomy laboratory is that the body before them belonged to a person who had a name, a family, a story, and a life. That lesson shapes how they later treat patients.
Currently, most, if not all universities in Uganda, and similar settings in Africa use unclaimed bodies for learning Anatomy. The use of cadavers in Uganda is governed by the Penal Code (Anatomy Rules) of 1957 that permits public hospitals to transfer bodies unclaimed for at least 14 days to a medical training institution like Makerere University. Unfortunately, these cadavers are used without the consent of the deceased because most of them are unknown and with no known relatives to claim them. Many opponents to the use of unclaimed bodies opine that the practice is unethical. There is a global push toward ethical use of cadavers in medical education, where a person consents and bequeathes his/her body for medical education when still alive. For this practice to be sustainable, there is a need for a well regulated body donation program. Unfortunately, the concept of willful body donation is still not well understood by many people, and neither has it been a topic of public debate. Further, there are lots of myths surrounding death and dying in Africa, including Uganda that have hindered the establishment of successful body donation programs. Willingness to donate bodies for medical education is however, influenced by several factors including cultural and religious beliefs, respect for the dead and the need to fulfil burial rites, fear for mutilation and disrespect, to mention a few. These concerns are real and should not be dismissed. But they should be addressed with accurate information, openness, and utmost respect.
It is important to understand that body donation does not mean that a person is forgotten. On the contrary, it creates a legacy. A body donor may teach hundreds of future health professionals, in that way, one person’s final act of generosity can touch and save countless lives. This is kind of patriotism is largely unkown in Uganda and we do not speak about enough. We often talk about serving our country through leadership, business, farming, teaching, parenting, or community service. But there is also service beyond life. Body donation is one way of saying: “Even when I am gone, let me contribute to the health of my people.”
Currently, Uganda now has more than 15 universities training medical students and the demand for cadavers for learning anatomy is on the rise. Actually, the supply of cadavers cannot fulfil the demand, and medical educationists need to find alternative source of cadavers. Wilful body donation is the answer.
Uganda needs a national conversation on body donation. There is a need for deliberative public engagement involving various stakeholder including the public, religious and cultural leaders, civic leaders, the media, educationists, health professionals, medical training institutions, etc.
This commemoration ceremony will involve inter-denominational prayers for the silent teachers, and a reflection of their contribution to healthcare in Uganda. We hope this ceremony will provoke public debate on a subject that is hitherto considered a taboo by many. We talked about some of these issues last year, in the first ever such ceremony in Uganda, and have received several requests for more information on the procedure for donating one’s body for teaching purposes upon death. Like President Obama’s said, “yes we can”, an the dialogue starts from you and me. You are all invited for the commemoration ceremony at 9.00 am on June 11, 2026, at the Makerere University School of Public Health auditorium on main campus.
To donate one’s body is to give a final lesson, a final service, and a lasting gift to the nation.
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