Body Donor Program
Contact Us
Sara S. Solomon, MS
Human Anatomy Labs Program Manager
Drexel University College of Medicine, University City Campus
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy
60 N. 36th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.991.8858
sms858@drexel.edu
Jennifer Lees, MLT (ASCP)CM
Lead Human Anatomy Lab Technician
Drexel University College of Medicine, West Reading Campus
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy
50 Innovation Way
Wyomissing, PA 19610
267.857.6835
jl4467@drexel.edu
Theresa M. Connors
Drexel University College of Medicine, Queen Lane Campus
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy
2900 W. Queen Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19129
215.991.8307
tc42@drexel.edu
Welcome to the Drexel University College of Medicine Body Donor Program! Our body donation program is managed through the Humanity Gifts Registry of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
For more information, please view our FAQs or contact Sara Solomon at 215.991.8858 or sms858@drexel.edu for our University City Campus or Jennifer Lees at 267.857.6835 or jl4467@drexel.edu for our West Reading Campus.
2025 HGR Celebration of Remembrance
The 2025 HGR Celebration of Remembrance will take place on May 12, 2025 at 1 p.m. in the Irvine Auditorium of University of Pennsylvania. Many M1 College of Medicine student volunteers will be participating in the event! The celebration of remembrance is an annual event hosted by the Humanity Gifts Registry where we honor the body donors from our anatomy lab. Students, faculty and staff from all Philadelphia medical schools will be in attendance, as well as, facility members of our donors.
2024 Celebration of Remembrance
On Monday, May 13, the Humanities Gifts Registry hosted the Celebration of Remembrance, an annual event honoring the individuals who donated their bodies to medical education and research. All Philadelphia medical schools participated in this memorial event attended by the family members and loved ones of the donors. The Celebration of Remembrance is made possible by Philadelphia’s medical students and Drexel’s very own medical students were among the events volunteers:
- Eulogist: Mekha Varghese
- Reading of names: McKayla Antrim, Julia Danon, Abigail Faust, Bobby Kroma, Jaclyn Lo and Daisy Lookinland
- Musical performance: Sophie Geagan
- DUCOM’s Doctors Note: Taylor Carbine, Sarah Dabre, Joelle Park, Sophie Geagan, Vineetha Yadlapalli, Katie Chang, Ellie Azebe-Osime, Shrilakkshmi Babu and Austin Wright
- Greeter: Emmanuella Owusu-Ampaw
- 2024 Celebration of Remembrance Honors Selfless Donors
About Whole-body Donation
Whole-body donation is when an individual donates their body to medical education and research. It is considered one of the most selfless gifts an individual can give to medical education and research. This unmatched gift will help our Drexel University students learn about human anatomy and teach them materials that cannot compare to a traditional textbook.
The main courses that benefit from whole-body donation are professional level Gross Anatomy courses. Anatomy is the study of the structure and function of the human body while Gross Anatomy is the study of body structures large enough to be examined without the help of magnifying devices. It is one of the most important courses in the education of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and many other health care professionals.
The gift of body donation plays a critical role in helping medical and health-related science students master the complex anatomy of the human body and provides researchers with an essential tool for making discoveries to aid in the advancement of medical science.
Body Donation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, all whole-body donations must be made through the Humanity Gifts Registry. Please contact the registry at 215.922.4440 or visit their website at hgrpa.org for more information.
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