Himachal Pradesh: Left Leaders Donate Bodies to Medical Colleges

The leaders and the members of the Left parties in Himachal Pradesh are stepping up to help the medical colleges in the state. Recently, the body of Mohar Singh Thakur, former state secretary and central committee member of CPI(M), who died at Shimla on January 11, 2019, was handed over to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla.

Thakur had registered to donate his body with the IGMC in 2012 for medical research.

Similarly, body of another Keshav Sharma, a long time CPI member, who died on February 15, 2019 at Mandi, was handed over to Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College, Ner Chowk in Mandi district. This was the first donated human body in the newly established medical college.

The medical colleges from the state have been struggling to obtain human cadavers, which are required for dissection in the MBBS curriculum. There are a fewer donors, as many persons or their families choose to go for cremation or burying, owing to their religious beliefs.

Associate Professor of Anatomy Department, IGMC, Dr Anju Pratap told Newsclick, “The study of cadavers is mandatory for the first year MBBS students, so that they have real knowledge of human anatomy, physiology and surgery. But we are not getting enough donated bodies due to religious beliefs, and are soon going to start an awareness campaign in this regard.”

“From 2012, 364 persons have registered with the college to donate their bodies after death. But only five bodies have been donated till now, and medical colleges, especially the new colleges are finding it difficult to arrange the cadavers for dissection and research,” she added.

The IGMC is presently using four cadavers for 100 students, by dividing the students into four groups of 25. They get unclaimed dead bodies or from PGIMR Chandigarh, but finding a female body is very difficult.

Himachal state secretary, CPI(M), Dr Onkar Shad, said, “The Communist ideology teaches us to commit ourselves for lifelong service of humanity and society, and if the dead body can be used for medical research and for transplanting organs, we can serve the humanity even after death, rather than simply destroying the body.”

He added, “We have a long tradition of donating our bodies and many of our leaders, including former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, have donated their bodies for medical research. Many of us have registered for donation of our bodies, as we do not believe in the practice of Karamkand.”

Member of Bar Council of India and CPI state leader Desh Raj Sharma said, “Serving humanity is a lifelong commitment of a Communist. What can be a better use of human body than donating it for medical research and transplanting organs to save human beings?”

Also read: Over Rs. 250 crore Scholarship Scam in Himachal Pradesh University