Arrangements have also been made to purchase small trunks with donations from seniors to store bone sets.Courtesy of Dhaka Medical College Students

In order to become physicians, medical students must acquire a proper understanding of the human body. For this purpose, they require human bones and other organs of the deceased. In many countries, teaching is conducted with the aid of dummy or artificial bones. In Bangladesh, however, adopting such an approach immediately is challenging, as it would require establishing institutional mechanisms. Therefore, human skeletons remain the primary resource.

The bones and organs of those who donate their bodies for the welfare of humanity serve students for many years. Yet, such donations do not fully meet demand. Consequently, many students end up using bones from individuals who had never consented to donate their bodies. This has given rise to an illicit trade. Most alarmingly, in order to supply bones, unscrupulous individuals resort to grave robbing.

To curb the buying and selling of human remains as commercial products, students of Dhaka Medical College have taken the initiative to establish the DMC Bones Bank.