Woman seeks Collector’s approval to donate body

S. Sukumari (70), a resident of Coimbatore came for the public grievance meeting at the Coimbatore Collectorate on Monday to get the approval of the Collector to donate her body to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

The city is witnessing an increasing trend of youngsters signing up to donate their body to be used for study and medical research purposes.According to officials from the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), at least 30 persons sign up every year with the hospital pledging to donate their body. Of these, youngsters constitute a majority as they want to make a contribution to society even after they pass away.

Most of the time, the relative of those who had signed up to donate their body fulfil the pledge as the deceased persons usually make it a point to mention this in their wills. “In the last five years,” the official said, “there has been only one instance of a family refusing to donate the body of a person who had pledged to so. They gave in to pressure from the family.”

The Anatomy Department of the CMCH used these bodies for medical research and study proposes. This year, the CMCH had received three bodies so far.

The topic came into focus when a 70-year-old woman, S. Sukumari, met District Collector M. Karunagaran on Monday to seek his approval for donating her body to CMCH.