Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) recently featured in a powerful and insightful BBC Radio 4 documentary exploring the role of body donation in modern medical education and surgical training.
Broadcast as part of journalist Jenny Kleeman’s series, the episode gained rare access to a surgical skills course at BSMS that uses fresh donor bodies—an approach that allows trainee surgeons to practise procedures in conditions that closely replicate live surgery. The piece highlights the profound impact of this method on the development of advanced surgical skills and ultimately, on patient outcomes.
BSMS’s Professor Claire Smith, Professor of Anatomy and Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor Education and Innovation, University of Sussex, and Camilla Ingram, Prosector in Anatomy, were interviewed as part of the programme, offering expert insight into how donor bodies are respectfully and ethically used for teaching and training. They also reflected on the significance of donation and the deep sense of gratitude shared by both staff and learners.
The London Anatomy Office, which facilitates donations across the region, accepts around 350 donated bodies each year. While some are preserved for long-term study, many are used in their natural state for intensive, short-term training.
This documentary sheds light on the importance of real human tissue in clinical education, even as digital and virtual alternatives grow. It also pays tribute to the donors and their families, whose selfless decisions enable the next generation of doctors and surgeons to learn vital, life-saving skills.
The full episode is available on the BBC Radio 4 website and iPlayer, and is part of the The Gift series. Listen here.
Professor Claire Smith, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education and Innovation at Sussex and Professor of Anatomy at BSMS, has set up a project to find out how people feel about the use of donor bodies and who should have access to them. Find out more about this research on the dedicated page here.