Medical Education Crisis in Lucknow: KGMU and RMLIMS Face Critical Shortage of Body Donations

Two premier medical institutions in Lucknow, King George's Medical University (KGMU) and Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS), are confronting a severe and persistent shortage of body donations, creating significant challenges for medical education, surgical training, and vital research activities. This deficit threatens the foundational training of future doctors and surgeons across multiple specialties.

Critical Shortages Impacting Core Medical Training

KGMU requires approximately fifty cadavers annually to adequately support its educational programs, yet donations have consistently fallen short of this essential target. A senior professor at the institution emphasized the irreplaceable role of cadavers, stating, "Cadavers are the first teachers of medical students, essential for learning anatomy and surgical skills." This shortage forces the university to implement workarounds, including conducting multiple procedures on the same donated body and increasing reliance on digital simulation tools.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Soniya Nityanand highlighted the profound significance of body donation, calling it "the noblest legacy one can leave behind." Despite this recognition, the data reveals a troubling trend. The number of cadavers received at KGMU has fluctuated significantly, dropping sharply from thirty-nine in 2019 to just seventeen in 2020. While there has been some recovery in subsequent years—with eighteen in 2021, thirty in 2022, twenty-eight in 2023, and twenty-seven in 2024—the total figures remain stubbornly below the institution's annual requirement of fifty.

RMLIMS Faces an Even More Acute Deficit

The situation at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences is even more critical. Over the past five years, the institute has registered forty-one pledges for body donation but has received only five actual cadavers. This starkly contrasts with its annual requirement of twelve bodies. Although RMLIMS utilizes a virtual dissection table to supplement training, faculty members stress that digital tools cannot fully replicate the educational value of working with real human anatomy.

Prof Rajan Bhatnagar, head of the anatomy department at RMLIMS, explained this limitation clearly: "Digital tools are helpful, but they can't replace the human body in anatomical education." The tactile experience, three-dimensional understanding, and procedural practice gained from real cadavers are considered irreplaceable components of medical training.

Donor Demographics and Motivational Factors

An analysis of donor profiles at KGMU reveals that most individuals who pledge their bodies fall within the 45–55 age group. Approximately sixty percent of these donors make the pledge proactively before their death, while the remaining donations are facilitated posthumously with the consent of family members, which is a mandatory requirement in all cases.

Similarly, RMLIMS receives donations from a broader age range, spanning from forty to eighty-eight years, through comparable processes. The motivations driving these noble acts are diverse and often deeply personal:

A desire to support and advance medical education for future generations.
Spiritual or philosophical beliefs regarding the body after death.
Absence of close family members to perform traditional last rites.
A strong sense of moral responsibility and contribution to society.

Social support networks and collaborations with non-governmental organizations also play a crucial role in promoting the culture of body donation.

Institutional Efforts to Promote Awareness and Honor Donors

Both institutions have implemented sustained awareness campaigns to address the shortage. KGMU hosts annual awareness events in partnership with organizations like the Gayatri Parivar. As a gesture of profound gratitude, the university offers families of donors free medical treatment for two members, acknowledging their significant contribution.

RMLIMS conducts similar outreach initiatives with support from the Maharishi Dadhichi Deh Dan Programme and the Lions Club. Despite these efforts, several common concerns continue to discourage potential donations:

Religious beliefs and interpretations that may conflict with the concept of body donation.
Fear that the donated body might not be treated with proper dignity and respect.
Uncertainties regarding the performance of traditional funeral rites and ceremonies.

Essential Uses of Cadavers in Medical Training and Research

The cadavers received are indispensable for a wide array of educational and research purposes. At KGMU, they are utilized for:

Detailed anatomical dissection for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students.
Advanced surgical training across various specialties.
Pioneering research in fields such as robotic surgery and organ transplantation.

Departments including general surgery, orthopaedics, ENT, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, and forensic medicine rely regularly on these donations for teaching and skill development.

RMLIMS utilizes its cadavers primarily for foundational anatomy training and specialized research, particularly in radiology and neurosurgery. Both institutions maintain strict ethical protocols, ensuring all cadavers are handled with the utmost dignity—properly covered, stored in dedicated facilities, and treated with profound respect by students and staff alike.

KGMU further honors its donors through an annual Dehdaan Samman Samaroh, a ceremony where donor families are recognized, and the names of contributors are displayed publicly as a lasting tribute.

Future Strategies and Infrastructure Upgrades

To combat the growing demand and encourage more donations, both institutes are undertaking significant upgrades. KGMU plans to adopt softer embalming techniques, install modern freezer units, and expand collaborations with NGOs. The university is also seeking government support to amplify awareness campaigns on a larger scale.

Dr Bhaskar Agrawal, who oversees the body donation programme at KGMU, revealed innovative outreach plans: "We are planning to collaborate with priests and pandas for rituals like pind daan and prayers," aiming to address religious concerns directly.

Concurrently, RMLIMS is enhancing its facilities with improved air filtration systems, reliable power backup solutions, and advanced embalming techniques to better preserve and utilize the precious donations it receives. These combined efforts represent a multi-faceted approach to safeguarding the future of hands-on medical education in Lucknow.