Rajasthan faces shortage of bodies for medical study

Government Medical College, Kota, is conducting practical classes for its 250 students with eight to 10 cadavers, whereas Government Medical College, Jhalawar, has only six cadavers for its 200 students. 

Medical college authorities have sought the Rajasthan government’s permission to claim bodies of the destitute and those abandoned in shelter homes amid severe shortage of cadavers for students, The Print reported. 

Medical colleges in Kota and Jhalawar are managing practical studies by grouping students together due to a shortage of cadavers. Government Medical College, Kota, is conducting practical classes for its 250 students with eight to 10 cadavers. On the other hand, Government Medical College, Jhalawar, has only six cadavers for its 200 students. 

What NMC guidelines say 

However, the practice runs contrary to the Medical Council of India -- now the National Medical Commission -- guidelines of one cadaver for 10 students. Cadavers are human bodies used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites and determine causes of death. Most state-run medical colleges in Rajasthan and across India rely on donations for cadavers. 

Accepting the shortage of cadavers, Government Medical College - Jhalawar Dean Shiv Bhagwan Sharma said he wrote to the state government two months ago to request permission for claiming bodies from shelter homes. 
Manoj Sharma, nodal officer of the body donation programme at Government Medical College - Jhalawar, said almost all colleges across the state, including private ones, were facing the cadaver shortage. 

However, SMS Medical College, the biggest hospital in the state in Jaipur, and RNT Medical College in Udaipur are exceptions. Udaipur's location on the border with Gujarat enables it to acquire cadavers for students, he said. 

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