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ERIC Number: EJ1493333
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2026-Jan
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1935-9772
EISSN: EISSN-1935-9780
Available Date: 2025-11-04
Body Habitus Considerations in US Anatomical Body Donation Programs--Perspectives and Practices from Program Guidelines
Anatomical Sciences Education, v19 n1 p85-92 2026
Many US body donation programs impose restrictions on donations based on body size. To examine the body habitus criteria related to body weight, height, proportion, and other size factors in United States body donation programs (USBDP), 127 USBDP publicly available websites listed by the University of Florida were reviewed. Since this study focuses on publicly available website information, it may not capture the characteristics of all programs. Eleven percent of the USBDP websites with public-facing criteria exclusively listed numeric restrictions, while 24.4% included both descriptive and quantitative (numeric) terminology. The majority of websites with public-facing criteria (90.6%) imposed a weight-related restriction, with 55.1% providing descriptive (i.e., non-numeric) terms. The most common body mass index (BMI) cutoff (30 kg/m[superscript 2]) could disqualify some U.S. adults from donating, as the average BMI in the United States for adult females is 29.8 and for adult males is 29.4. Fourteen programs offered explanations of their descriptive or numeric weight/BMI restrictions. As language evolves to better describe and reflect body habitus, keeping up to date with best practice and community preferences may help when designing donor criteria. Public-facing information about body habitus criteria for donation may limit the representativeness of body habitus used in anatomical education and research. The implications of this on anatomical education and weight bias in students require more research.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: T32AR079099
Author Affiliations: 1Laupus Health Sciences Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA; 2Liaison Librarian to the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA; 3Department of Medical Education, Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; 4College of Health & Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA; 5Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; 6Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut, USA; 7Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, Gainesville, Florida, USA; 8Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; 9Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, Michigan, USA