EGYPT: Corpse shortage affects medical students

When he applied to attend the medical school of Cairo University, Egypt's biggest public institution, Ahmed Masoud never dreamed he and fellow students with limited economic resources would face the problem of a shortage of corpses for autopsy training. "This badly affects our medical skills," says Masoud. "And, with examinations nearing, we are left with two options: either to buy corpses ourselves or attend private tuition classes in anatomy. Most of us cannot afford either."

Masoud says acquiring corpses for autopsy training is a problem for most government-owned medical schools in the country of 80 million people. The severe shortage has prompted calls for people to donate bodies after death for medical students' training or for organ transplants.

The calls have yet to draw a positive response in this conservative Muslim society where most people see the human body as a 'divine gift' that should not be 'desecrated' after death.

Europeans have more awareness of this issue and many donate their organs and bodies to science after death, says Dr Hamdi al-Sayyed, chair of Egypt's Medical Association. "In Egypt, it is different. We seem more concerned about death than living."

Although organ donations have been approved by many Muslim clerics in Egypt, they are still at odds over donating the body after death.

"There is nothing wrong from the Islamic point of view about donating organs to save another man's life. Still, this donation should not be in return for money, otherwise it will be haram (un-Islamic)," argues Abdel Nabi Faraj, a cleric at Al Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's most influential institution.

"But donating one's body for autopsy training is not approved, especially as there are alternatives even if they are costly," Faraj told University World News. The Egyptian parliament has long failed to pass a controversial bill on donations because of vociferous opposition that it might promote trade in organs.

Medical faculties in Egypt usually use unknown dead people for autopsy training. But a year ago the country's Chief Prosecutor ordered that for a medical authority to use an unknown body, a lawsuit must first be filed to prove lack of identity.

"These procedures often take a long time and the dead body can decay before receiving legal approval," says Dr Ahmed Nassar, dean of the governmental Ain Shams University's medical school in eastern Cairo.

Nassar says around 10 corpses are currently available in his school's morgue for some 3,000 medical students: "This means there is a body for each 300 students. Many countries use artificial corpses, the prices of which range from LE350,000 (US$63,600) to LE750,000 (US$136,300). These prices cannot be afforded here in Egypt."

In a bid to overcome the corpse shortage, some medical professors have said they will donate their bodies after death for autopsy training. "This gesture is really noble but it is difficult to apply," Nassar points out. "How can medical students accept the idea of being trained in autopsy on the bodies of their one-time instructors? It is hard to imagine."

Other medical professors urge the promotion of a 'culture of donation': "Why should donation be limited to medical teachers alone?" asks Dr Abdel Moneim al-Barbari, a member of the Egyptian Medical Association.

"All people should be encouraged to do this, especially as even if all medical professors agree to donate their bodies after death for autopsy training, this will not be enough to solve the problem."