Cadavers are deceased human bodies mostly intended for dissection and/or scientific research. They are normally used for medical training or research through the consent of either the deceased or the family. But they are not used at De Anza College.

Cadavers have proved themselves to be useful: many medical breakthroughs have occurred because of these generous donations. 

Elementary school students may view cadavers as scary things that they would only see on television or in a haunted house. Middle and high school students think of cadavers as dead people. However, college students see cadavers from a whole different perspective. They see them as an amazing opportunity to learn, something that would better themselves in their careers in science and overall knowledge in general.

“Even though it would be somewhat uncomfortable for people just starting out as a biology major, studying [cadavers] would be very beneficial and a good learning experience,” says biology major Mariko Sampaga.

“I mean, we are already using samples such as fish and other animals. I don’t think cadavers would pose any more of a problem than the animals do,” says biology major Kevin Ngo. “Besides, I think it would be more helpful to allow students to use cadavers than to let [students] sit there.”

De Anza College is a community college. A lot of people think of it as a go-between a high school and a university. If science and medical majors were to have access to human cadavers so early in their career, they would have a incredible advantage over others in their field.

“Cadavers are really essential to a science major. The only downside to them would be that in order to preserve them, a lot of chemicals are involved, which might have an adverse effect on the students,” said biology major Shruthi Chandrasekhar.

“Another concern would be that De Anza has no way of storing them, and because dealing with them is mandatory, it will scare people off from the major.”

The college currently has no means of storing cadavers. De Anza already has an issue with space and the population of students who attend this school, but innovation is always welcome, and the benefits of cadavers at De Anza clearly outweigh the hassles.

The issue of cadavers has been much debated and many people think that it is demeaning to allow medical students to dissect them. 

However, if the patient and family consented, there wouldn’t be a problem. The family would be fully informed of the process and how their donation would contribute to medical discoveries. 

As long as the medical students choose to act mature and respectful, it shouldn’t be an issue.

“There might be problems storing the cadavers, but as far as morality goes, I really don’t think it’s an issue,” says biology major Priyanka Kulkarni. “Biology majors will come across cadavers at one point in their career anyway. It’s inevitable.”

If De Anza were to acquire cadavers and work them into science curriculum, students would have the opportunity to work up to their life science major’s expectations at De Anza and later on in life.

“Having this experience would open the eyes of all science majors. It’s a really good hands-on learning experience and I think that eventually the people, who are uncomfortable with dealing with a human cadaver, will toughen up and be a better science major for it,” said biology major Davis Nguyen.