Day 172: Donating My Body to Science

During the first year of medical school, med students are introduced to their first patient. This patient is always on time, doesn’t burden you with questions, and never gets upset if you make a mistake. The only down side to this patient is their stench...no not B.O. or even bad breath, but rather the smell of formaldehyde. That’s right your first patient is typically your cadaver in the anatomy lab.

Many people donate their bodies to the cause of science. I think it is a noble thing to sacrifice the only thing you have left when you die...your body...in order to help others learn and further scientific knowledge. I am an organ donor but I doubt that I ever will take that ultimate step and donate my whole body when I die to research. However, today I sacrificed my arm to the cause of science by turning it over to my Afghan first aid students. I have been teaching them how to place an IV. I realized that the only way to find out if I really taught them well was to let them practice and place an IV in me. So I gave them the needle, closed my eyes, and hoped for the best. To my surprise they got me on the first poke. Sure there was some blood spilling down my arm and they forgot to put on gloves, but, they successfully put in the IV on the first try. I was proud of them and as you can tell from the picture, they were pretty proud of themselves as well.