The body donation reception center of the Zhanjiang campus of Guangdong Medical University (GDMU) was launched and opened to the public on Dec 16. It marked the first of its kind in western Guangdong to officially begin receiving voluntary donations.

Body remains donations are currently the only legal channel for obtaining human anatomy teaching specimens, which have irreplaceable effects on human anatomy teaching. In order to solve the problem, the Zhanjiang campus of GDMU signed a contract with Zhanjiang Red Cross, becoming the first institution in western Guangdong with the qualifications to receive body remains.

At present, the center is equipped with a set of special facilities for receiving body remains, and has a dedicated body reception room with hardware facilities for receiving remains. The university also attaches great importance to medical humanities education, setting up a multifunctional room for the publicity and education of body remains donation.

Previously, only cities with medical colleges and universities in Guangdong possessed legal body donation reception centers, such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shantou. Residents in western Guangdong needed to coordinate their donations with Shenzhen and Guangzhou body reception centers if they wanted to donate their remains.

Now, Zhanjiang Red Cross will be responsible for the promotion, registration, and liaison of body donations, while the Zhanjiang campus of GDMU will be responsible for receiving and managing the bodies.