Why did the body of the CPI(M) leader not reach the anatomical table, despite his desire to make a donation?

In its recent order, the Kerala High Court laid special emphasis on Section 4 of the Murder Act even as two of Lawrence’s children had argued for a religious funeral. “The statement of the sixth respondent (Sujata) that in October 2021 her father expressed his desire to be buried in the church, even if accepted, is of no use since for the purpose of section 4A(1) only the expression of the request of the deceased at the time can be taken into account his last illness,” noted the judicial panel V.G. Arun.

The section states that if any person at any time, in writing or orally in the presence of two or more persons, during his last illness, has expressly requested that the body be used for anatomical examination and dissection after death, then the desire to be honored.

Problems of body donation

While the Kerala High Court has given priority to the oral consent of the deceased, KYS said there are many problems even when written and oral evidence is available. In most cases, section 4A(2b) of the KAA, which prevents the takeover if “the surviving spouse or any close relative of the deceased objects to such treatment of the deceased’s body”, carries weight.

“Body donation can be done by submitting a consent letter signed by the spouse, children and two external witnesses to the principal of the concerned medical college. However, if any family members object, the letter will be of no use. Several years ago, I helped the family of a deceased rationalist with body donation. The wife and children spoke in favor of the donation. Then a relative who had had no connection with the family for decades objected and demanded a church funeral. We finally managed to secure the will of the deceased. However, in some cases, opposition from a random relative can derail plans,” he said.

The rationalist organization also demanded proper body capture procedures. Except in private medical colleges, families or witnesses must deposit the body at the nearest medical college hospital. “Recently, a family in Idukki had to spend Rs 10,000 to get an ambulance to send a body to the Government Medical College in Kottayam. In one case, the hospital asked us to bear the cost of maintaining the body at the mortuary as its receipt was delayed due to voltage issues at the hospital,” Sukumaran said.

Shaktidharan pointed out instances where hospital management showed a lack of dignity towards dead bodies. “Put it here somewhere,” they said one day, he added. There are also complaints about hospital staff complicating the seizure process in the name of petty issues, and about their unconscionable attitude towards the families of the victims. Such discouraging moves come even as medical colleges struggle to find enough cadavers for their anatomy departments.

There is also no uniformity in the cost of stamp paper. “In Thiruvananthapuram, the consent letter can be given to the director of MCH on a stamp paper costing Rs 200. In Thrissur it costs Rs 100, but in Kozhikode Medical College, stamp paper of any value, even Rs 50, is acceptable,” he said. .

In case there is no written consent of the deceased, Shaktidharan said that a letter from close family members – spouse or children – will be considered for donation. “Previously, a statement is given from a prominent person – perhaps an elected representative of a local government body – confirming that the person died of natural causes. Now the majority of MChDs do not insist on this,” he said.

With the support of KAA, medical colleges routinely accept unclaimed bodies to meet the cadaver needs of their anatomy departments. Due to the huge demand for corpses from private medical colleges, the Kerala Department of Health and Family Welfare issued an order in 2008 allowing medical colleges and general hospitals to sell unclaimed bodies to private medical colleges at a cost of Rs 40,000. Since 2008, the government has collected Rs 3.6 crore by selling 1,122 unclaimed bodies to private medical colleges, according to the agency.

According to data, the ideal student-to-cadaver ratio is 1:10, and many medical institutes struggle to achieve it.

As part of a multi-year awareness campaign, KYS and AT Kovoor Trust, founded in memory of the rationalist Abraham Thomas Kovoor, have been able to organize 164 human body donations in Kerala since 1980. Rationalist and AT Kovoor Trust secretary Dhanuvachapuram Sukumaran said they had launched the campaign to ensure sufficient number of corpses for medical research and also to end superstitions around ghosts and spirits.

According to Sukumaran, the first donation in Kerala happened in September 1980 when former KYS general secretary Iringal Krishnan donated the body of his mother K Kalyani to the Kozhikode Medical College. “Since then, KMS and the Kovur Trust have organized the donation of 164 bodies and 360 pairs of corneas. Thanks to an intensive campaign in Thrissur district, 55 bodies were donated to Thrissur Medical College alone,” he said.