Veterinary schools now accept animal cadaver donations

Washington- When pet owners lose a beloved animal, along withthe traditional private burial or cremation, another option is emerging- colleges and universities that use animal cadavers for training futureveterinarians.

The alternative, known as an Educational Memorial Program, is modeledafter human donation programs associated with medical schools; all donatedcompanion animals have died from natural causes, or were euthanized formedical reasons.

Client-donated animal cadavers are used in veterinary courses that donot use live animals for instructional purposes. The most common use isin anatomy laboratories, but these cadavers are also used as an alternativeto non-recovery surgery performed on live animals.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sponsored two U.S. veterinarystudents in researching the Educational Memorial concept. The veterinarystudents worked closely with anatomy instructors, clinicians, and administratorsat veterinary colleges with successful donation programs in place.

The HSUS helped the students create a Web page dedicated to the bodydonation issue at: http://www.educationalmemorial.org.

Currently, four veterinary schools have Educational Memorial Programs:University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&MUniversity College of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University School of VeterinaryMedicine, and the University of Wisconsin ­ Madison School of VeterinaryMedicine.