The Most Precious Gifts

Good morning. 

On Wednesday, we gathered to give thanks with students, faculty and members of our community to those Mississippians who decided to donate their bodies to us for educational purposes. The ceremony gives us the opportunity to show our appreciation for these thoughtful anatomical donors. 

We thank the family members of our donors for being part of the ceremony, and we know that their loved ones meant the world to them. 

Our Anatomical Gift Program provides for hands-on training using donor remains in five of our health sciences programs: medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, dentistry and clinical anatomy. The experience these students get from working with these donor bodies, considered their “first patients,” cannot be replicated. No simulator or other means can adequately replace the experience of investigating a human body. For this reason, the Mississippians who sign up for this program will eventually make a huge impact in our state that will be felt as long as these students are in practice. 

Students representing each program speak to those in attendance each year to thank donors’ loved ones. They express a wellspring of feelings and emotions as they describe learning their chosen discipline through these donors. For each and every one of them, it’s an experience they will think about for the rest of their careers. Family members in attendance have told me it’s meaningful for them as well to hear from the students on the impact their loved ones had even past their death.  

I want to share with you a portion of the comments made by this year’s student speakers. Their confidence in the classroom is truly showing in other areas, not the least of which are their public-speaking abilities.  

“An organ donor has the ability to save up to eight lives. A tissue donor can improve the lives of approximately seventy-five individuals. But this year, your loved ones have done something just as profound. They have taught 60 Master’s students, 40 dental students, 50 physical therapy students, 40 occupational therapy students, and 170 medical students — along with many others, including students in audiology and doctoral programs. In total, your loved ones have impacted nearly 400 students this year alone.”

- Hawthorne Cleveland, biomedical sciences student  

“I want to say thank you, not only for the incredible gifts your loved ones have given us, but for allowing us to share this moment. When I first stepped foot in the gross anatomy lab, I saw the individual assigned to our table. My classmates and I won’t ever know these individuals on a personal level, we know they were of incredible selflessness and true character.” 

- Joshua Berry, dental student 

“Our donors are our first teachers. Through them, we learn not only the structure of the human body but also the values that shape us into compassionate health care professionals.” 

- Jhansi Lakshmi Chavan, clinical anatomy student 

“I found myself wondering how they were known by the people here today. Were they a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a grandparent, an uncle, an aunt, a friend or just a sweet loved one? It was a reminder that the person we were learning from was deeply known and deeply loved. In those moments, I gained a deeper appreciation not just for the structure of the body, but for how intricately and intentionally we are each made.”  

- Kiersten Selman, physical therapy student  

“Our first class on campus was human anatomy, where we were introduced to our first patients. From the beginning, your loved ones taught us lessons that exceed far beyond the classroom. They prepared us to care for our future patients with integrity and respect. What they provided cannot be found in a lecture or a textbook. And because of them, we will become more knowledgeable health care providers and more empathetic ones as well.” 

- Morgan Brown, occupational therapy student 

“They were our first patients. They taught us to treat the human body with dignity, to handle each moment with care, and to never forget that every lesson in medicine is tied to a human life. They showed us what trust looks like and what a privilege it is to learn in service of others. From the very beginning of our training, they helped shape the kind of physicians we hope to become.”  

I started medical school back in 1987, but I still remember the tremendous impact of working with my anatomical donor and learning from my first patient. Whatever profession, career or role our donors had in their lives, we can add to the list that they were teachers. They had a critically important impact on education and teaching our students. 

The selflessness shown by those whose names were read aloud during the ceremony (the “roll call of heroes”) is a small but significant part of preparing the next generation of health science professionals who will indeed bring us closer to A Healthier Mississippi.