“Because everybody's different”: Co-designing body donor program consent processes

While it is broadly accepted that body donation for anatomical education should rely on informed consent, consent processes vary substantially. Best practice guidelines for body donation are typically published by anatomical societies and may not reflect details valued by prospective donors or the educators and students who utilize donor bodies for teaching and learning. As an initial step to designing a consent process for a proposed body donor program at Monash University in Australia, this study brought together prospective body donors, students, and educators to explore their perspectives on donor consent. This study utilized co-design methodology, a form of participatory action research that values and includes diverse stakeholders to understand phenomena and inform change. The 22 study participants comprised 7 prospective donors who expressed interest in a future body donor program at Monash University, 9 students, 3 educators, and 3 participants who identified as educators and prospective body donors. Data were collected through 4 mixed stakeholder focus groups and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes were developed: (1) Ethical and legal consent foundations, (2) Informed consent, (3) Individualized consent, and (4) Future-focused consent. While some findings support existing consent guidelines (e.g. informed consent requiring information adequacy), other findings highlight how consent processes could be expanded to incorporate community values. For instance, consent processes could include discussions between students and prospective donors and ensure that communication with prospective donors continues over time. Critically, consent processes should recognize that “everybody's different” and aim for inclusivity of diverse donor preferences.