Yiorgos Katsikis, a beloved husband and father from Vlahopoulo Messinias, took his last breath a month ago. However, the funeral of this generous man will never take place.
As during his life, thus after his death, Mr Katsikis has always been devoted to helping people.
When Yiorgos Katsikis underwent heart surgery five years ago, it was the moment when, inside him, a respect for medical scientists started growing bigger and bigger. His ultimate wish was to donate his body to science and he believed in his decision.
Yiorgos Katsikis passed away four months after his body donation consent form was accepted. He donated his body to the Body Donor Program of the University of Melbourne, for the purposes of anatomical examination and teaching and study of medical science.
For the late Yiorgos, helping out your fellow man was the biggest gift anyone could give. From the same point of view, the Greek Orthodox Church has no objection to body donation to science. The act, as well as organ donation, is seen as an act of solidarity and sacrifice among human persons.
As with every other procedure, body donation follows a set of rules, limitations and official paperwork. Not everyone can donate their body to science.
To be accepted as a donor to the University’s Body Donor Program, the official paperwork must be submitted and the donor is later notified of their eligibility. If the person passes away in a public space, by law the body is taken by the coroner for the death cause to be examined. However, if the deceased wanted to donate their body to science, the body won’t be accepted if the autopsy has been performed.
Other circumstances that may lead to donation being rejected include if the cause of death is associated with significant disease, or if death occurs in areas outside certain geographical boundaries – in Melbourne, for example, at a distance of more than 60 km from Melbourne’s CBD.
Bodies that have been donated to the university body donor programs are used in the education and training of future healthcare professionals. The body is kept for about three years, though in many cases it may be less than that. On completion of studies, each body is cremated and the ashes returned on the request of the family.
In Victoria, application and consent forms for body donation are submitted to the University of Melbourne, which leads the only accredited program in Victoria for people who wish to donate their bodies. Every year, the University of Melbourne accepts around 150 bodies.
A precedent for the Greek community of Australia, the body donation of Yiorgos Katsikis to science is still a rare gift in Australia. For this reason, bodies are often being imported from China for the purposes of medical science.
Other body donor programs in Australia include The University of NSW, The University of Western Australia, The University of Tasmania, Australian National University, University of Queensland, University of Adelaide and others.
For more information, visit the Body Donor Program of the University of Melbourne, at www.medicine.unimelb.edu.au/anatomy-neuroscience/ehs/body-donor-program