WEST DES MOINES, IOWA (April 21, 2025) — Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences will honor 47 individuals, including twelve honored veterans, at this year's Body Donation Remembrance Ceremony. The annual service will take place at 10:30AM, Saturday, May 3, at the Olsen Center at 3200 Grand Ave, invites faculty, staff, students, and body-donor families to remember these individuals who have generously given their bodies to further medical education.
These individuals play a critical role in the education of future medical providers. DMU's Body Donation Program directly supports its mission by enabling future health-care professionals to gain in-depth knowledge about human anatomy, learn and practice techniques that improve and save lives. It also inspires students to be compassionate, respectful, and grateful toward those who have made the ultimate gift of donating their bodies.
"The individuals we honor during this ceremony have made an extraordinary contribution to medical education and the future of health-care. Their selfless generosity allows students to gain an unparalleled understanding of the human body — knowledge that will guide them in treating and healing patients," says Donald Matz PhD, chair of DMU's anatomy department. "We are deeply grateful for their gift and the trust their families have placed in us."
Speakers at the service include students representing four DMU degree programs and the military, as well as DMU President and CEO Angela L Walker Franklin PhD, and Matz. The DMU Chamber Ensemble and DMU Choir will perform several musical pieces and the Army National Guard Honor Guard will perform "Taps" during a flag-folding ceremony to honor donors who were veterans.
DMU relies on the voluntary donation of bodies for anatomical and surgical study by its students. As of April 1, 2025, 3,190 people have donated the ultimate gift to DMU since detailed recordkeeping began in 1955.
For more information about DMU's Body Donation Program, contact Ed Christopherson FD BS, body donation coordinator, at 515-271-1491 or bodydonor@dmu.edu, or visit the program's website.
Located in West Des Moines, part of Iowa's capital metro, Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences offers ten graduate-level professional-degree programs in anatomy, biomedical sciences, health-care administration, occupational therapy, osteopathic medicine, physical therapy, physician-assistant studies, podiatric medicine, and public health. Founded in 1898, the institution offers superior academics in a collaborative environment. DMU students' scores on national examinations, pass-rates on board certifications, and match-rates for medical-residency programs are consistently higher than national averages and rates at peer institutions.
