New Mexico University suffers shortage of donated cadavers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Fewer people in New Mexico are donating their bodies to science when they die, making it harder to train medical students preparing for their careers.

The University of New Mexico Anatomy Lab said Friday that it needs about 75 donated cadavers each year to train future doctors, but it currently only has 18.

Amy Rosenbaum, director of the university’s anatomical donations program, says medical students missed out during the early part of the coronavirus pandemic when all teaching was virtual.

The pandemic also has affected donations with mortuaries overwhelmed handling deaths and staffing problems, along with transportation issues, she said.