Madhya Pradesh: Body Of Vidisha Octogenarian Donated To Science

Vidisha: The family of an 80-year-old deceased donated his body for medical research in accordance with his last wish. The body of Halakein of Okayla village in Ganjbasoda tehsil of Vidisha was handed over to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Medical College.

In recognition of this exemplary contribution to the field of medicine and research, the administration, while following the rules established by the Madhya Pradesh government, arranged for a special police contingent to present a guard of honor at the Medical College campus. Everyone present, including the family members, was moved to tears when the police personnel lowered their arms and saluted Halakain for his contribution to society.

According to information available, the late Halakein was influenced by the teachings of a guru, and believed that the human body should be put to use for the benefit of humanity not only when alive, but also after death. Accordingly, Halakein left a will, pledging his body for donation after his death.

Sub Inspector Balveer Singh, who was present at the Medical College premises, said, “As a police officer, it was an moment of immense pride and honour for me. Usually, people donate property or wealth, but late Halakein donated his entire body for the sake of humanity and the education of medical students. Following the instructions of the state government, our team had the privilege of giving him a Guard of Honour. I salute the courage of this great soul and his family. Such examples are rare in society and this will provide an inspiration to the coming generations."

Body donation is a voluntary act of giving one’s whole body after death to authorised medical institutions for medical education, anatomical dissection and scientific research. It is regulated by the Anatomy Act enacted individually by each state government. The Act governs how authorised medical colleges and hospitals receive, preserve and utilise both voluntarily donated bodies and unclaimed ones.

Over the years, awareness drives are being carried out to motivate more people to come forward and donate their bodies for medical research. Despite these efforts, India continues to face an overall acute shortage of cadavers, which is also marked by regional disparities. This shortage is also a result of an increase in seats at medical colleges. The National Medical Commission (NMC) reportedly targets a training ratio of one cadaver for every 10 students. Reports say that in some newly-established medical colleges, particularly in semi-urban and rural India, this ratio is as low as 1:50, and call for a major collection drive.

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