Body donation in China: yesterday, today and tomorrow

Anatomical dissection course relies much on cadavers. Body donation is a main source of cadavers used in anatomical dissection course in China. Since 1970s, body donation programs have been gradually established, supporting the anatomical dissection courses and the training of medical students. This article reviews the development of body donation programs in China and relevant researches from the following five aspects: very early stage, ethics and laws, data collection and questionnaire survey, humanistic care and humanistic education challenges and countermeasures. This article may pave a way for further development of body donation programs in China and for researches in the future.