The University of Manchester has held a service of thanksgiving at the prestigious Whitworth Hall for the public spirited individuals who in 2024 and 2025 gave their bodies to medical science.
The annual ceremony, which took place on Wednesday March 4 at 1:15pm, will remember the donors whose selfless gift has helped hundreds of medical, dental and science students gain a deeper understanding of human anatomy.
The donors also give surgeons a crucial opportunity to further their knowledge of anatomy in their quest to constantly improve clinical techniques and procedures.
The service, which is distinct from the final committal or funeral service of the donors, will be multi-denominational so any religious belief - or those without - are warmly welcomed.
Relatives and friends of the donors attended the ceremony alongside students, academics, technical and bequethals staff along with senior leaders at the University.
There will be a candle lighting ceremony during the service where a candle will be lit for each donor and their names read out.
Professor Margaret Kingston, Director of Undergraduate Medical and Dental Education will speak alongside Dr Bipasha Choudhury, School Lead for Anatomy.
There will also be readings from Humanist minister Paul Costello, Methodist minister Richard Mottershead and Father Dushan, a Roman Catholic priest.
The Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, His Majesty the King's representative for Greater Manchester, will be present.
Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice-President for Social Responsibility at the University of Manchester said: suggested quote: "As a University, we would like to express our deepest thanks to those who gave their bodies to science: your final act became a beginning for countless others.
"Their generosity helps knowledge to grow, medicine and science to advance, and humanity to move forward. Their wonderful gift will not be forgotten."
Dr Choudhury said: "We are sincerely grateful to the donors for the gift they have bestowed upon our students and staff, helping us learn human anatomy in a profoundly moving way.
"Through their generosity, and the generosity of their families, future health care professionals gain a deep understanding of the form and workings of the human body."
The wife of one of our donors said: "We were moved by the serious gratitude expressed in the words of the service. The candle and name card represent the fact that the last resting place of John's body is not under a gravestone or in a casket but it the brain and memory of each student for whom this was his final teaching role."
- For more details about donating your body to education and science, visit the University's bequethals webpage here.
