The University holds Annual Memorial Service at St Salvator’s Chapel
The Annual Memorial Service to honour those who have donated their body to the University of St Andrews in the previous year, took place at St Salvator’s Chapel on 13th April 2022. This service marked the first in-person service since 2019, with last year’s service taking place virtually and the 2020 service sadly being cancelled due to Covid-19 regulations.
The service is an opportunity for family members and friends, staff and students to come together to give thanks and reflect on the generosity of the donors whose gift of donating their body contributes to the education of medical students, staff and health professionals undergoing anatomical and medical training. Anatomical knowledge is an important cornerstone of medical training. Knowledge of the structure of the body is essential to ensure patients have good medical care, and undergo safe clinical procedures. It is also fundamental in the interpretation of medical images.
At this year’s service, the university Chaplain Donald MacEwan led a reflective thanksgiving sermon and students spoke about their experiences of learning from donated bodies, poignantly expressing their admiration of the compassion and selflessness of the donors.
Mrs Rachel Parrot, Bequest Coordinator and Assistant Prosector, who organised the service said, “I feel privileged to work alongside the Chaplaincy to organise this service. This is an opportunity for families and friends of our donors to meet our staff and students and realise the positive impact their altruistic gift has given.”