TOPIC FOR DEBATE Perceptions of the Living Dead: An Assessment of Knowledge and Opinions About Whole Body Donation, its Process, and Willingness to Become Cadaveric Donors in Pennsylvania SEAN P. LARNER, 1 BRIAN MCQUONE, 2 JUSTINE M. SCHOBER, 3* MARIOS LOUKAS, 4 AND MARK TERRELL 5 1 Department of Otolaryngology and Facial Plastic Surgery, Millcreek Community Hospital, Erie, Pennsylvania 2 Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Hamot, Erie, Pennsylvania 3 Department of Pediatric Urology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Hamot, Erie, Pennsylvania 4 Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies 5 Department of Anatomy, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, Pennsylvania Despite the many important uses for human cadavers, there is a relative short- age of bodies donated to the scientific community in the United States of America. The purpose of this study was to determine the community’s percep- tions regarding whole body donation and their willingness to become donors. Moreover, we aimed to investigate people’s understanding of the process of whole body donation, and examine their opinions regarding its importance. Individuals in Erie, Pennsylvania were surveyed. Data were collected via a questionnaire, which was offered to friends and family members of patients in the waiting area of the UPMC Hamot Surgery Center. All participants were resi- dents of Erie County. The questionnaire was designed to evaluate knowledge and opinions about whole body donation. A total of 123 people completed the survey. We found people were willing to become whole body donors and under- stood the importance of this giving act, but lacked understanding about the registration process and the use of donated bodies. Participants revealed the belief that they have the right to decide what is to be done with their bodies after death, but did not indicate specific negative repercussions of becoming whole body donors. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the shortage of cadaveric donors could be due to lack of understanding about whole body don- ation and the registration process. Clin. Anat. 28:442–448, 2015. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Key words: cadaver; body donation; cadaver donation INTRODUCTION “Whole body donation” is the process whereby an individual donates his or her body for scientific use after death. This is a very important process, as dis- secting human cadavers is considered a cornerstone for medical education (Boulware et al., 2004; Gior- dano, 2005; Stimec et al., 2010). In addition to teach- ing anatomy, cadavers are used for surgical practice and development of new techniques, medical research on an array of diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, and the development of automobile safety measures through crash testing (Roach, 2003). Despite the inherent importance of cadaver use there *Correspondence to: Justine Schober, UPMC Hamot Medical Center, Erie, PA, USA. E-mail: schobermd@aol.com Received 19 February 2014; Accepted 11 January 2015 Published online 26 February 2015 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/ca.22516 V V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Clinical Anatomy 28:442–448 (2015)