Anatomy acts in India: a review

The paucity of human cadavers for study of anatomy by dissection and the dark history related to this led to formulation of Anatomy Acts in most countries of the world. In India too, almost every state has its own anatomy Act with variable differences in the acts per state. The objective of this article was to compare the Maharashtra State Anatomy Act which was the first Anatomy act formulated in India, with anatomy Acts of other states in India and to make suggestions regarding areas within the Acts that may need reformulation. Details of the Anatomy Acts from different states of India and articles related to them were obtained after a comprehensive search of databases such as Pubmed, Scopus, medline etc. The obtained data was studied and compared. The study suggested removal of "therapeutic uses of cadavers" from the jurisdiction of anatomy acts, and that all anatomy acts must allow for human body donation. While defining the unclaimed body, most Anatomy Acts failed to specify the time period within which the body may be claimed and also it was necessary to specify the age of person who may claim the body or give consent for body donation. The Anatomy Acts must make provision for transfer of surplus bodies from one Institute to another. The directives for disposal of the bodies once utilized seem difficult to implement in practicality and need to be reformulated to adjust to the need of the modern times. The authors appeal for formulation of a central single Indian anatomy act applicable uniformly throughout India

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Knowledge and attitude toward organ donation among health-care professionals in a rural town in India.

Organ shortage is the greatest challenge facing the field of organ transplantation today. We aimed to study the attitude and knowledge toward organ donation among health-care professionals (HCPs) in rural India. The study was conducted in a rural town in Konkan region of Maharashtra in India. A questionnaire testing knowledge and attitude about various aspects of organ donation was distributed to HCPs. One hundred percent of the respondents were aware about organ donation. Nearly 40.6% and 21.9% believed that a healthy person and a cardiac dead person can be donors, respectively. Fifty percent believed that a brain dead person can be a donor and 3.1% clearly stated as to be having no idea regarding the health status of a donor. Almost 37.5% were ready to believe a heart beating person declared as "brain dead" as dead. Nearly 15.6% were ready to accept a brain dead person as "legally" dead. Highest awareness was observed regarding eye donation, i.e., 87.5%. High awareness was also observed regarding liver, kidney, heart, skin, and body donations, i.e., 78.1%, 65.6%, 37.5%, 31.3%, and 25.0%, respectively. Awareness regarding organ donation of other tissues and organs was poor. Nearly 46.9% HCPs stated that they felt need for an educational session on organ donation. Awareness regarding concept of organ donation among HCPs in rural India is high. Awareness regarding details of organ donation needs further awareness drives. There is a lack of understanding regarding various aspects of brain death and its importance in organ donation.

Knowledge and attitude toward organ donation among people in Lanja: A rural town in India.

Organ shortage is the greatest challenge facing the field of organ transplantation today. We aimed to study the attitude and knowledge toward body and organ donation among people in rural India. The present study was conducted in a rural town called Lanja, in the Konkan region of Maharashtra in India. A questionnaire covering demographic data, knowledge, and attitude of the participants was distributed to 400 students, middle-aged and senior citizens; 91.5% of the respondents were aware about organ donation. Television (55.2%) and newspaper (45.8%) were the most popular sources of information. About 56.2% and 32.8% believed that a healthy person and a cardiac dead person can be donors, respectively. Nearly 29.4% believed that a brain-dead person can be a donor and 22.4% clearly stated as to be having no idea regarding the health status of a donor. Highest awareness was observed regarding eye donation (92%). High awareness was also observed regarding heart, kidney, and liver donations, that is, 71.1%, 61.2%, and 54.2%, respectively. Awareness regarding donation of other tissues and organs was poor. Only 46.8% believed that the family of the deceased person can give consent for organ donation if the donor had not signed the donor card. Awareness regarding both body and organ donation in rural India is high. However, there is lack of understanding regarding the concept of brain-death. Awareness regarding body and other organ and tissue donations besides eye, kidney, etc., needs further awareness drives.