Emilia Romagna Economy Observatory

Medicine

Emilia-Romagna with the 'Da parte mia' campaign informs about the donation of one's body to science

The Ministry of Health has singled out the Region as the leader for a national communication campaign on the significance of a fundamental choice for medical research and surgical practice

23 May 2025

A Bologna, nell’Aula Magna Santa Lucia, l’evento organizzato dal Centro anatomico dell'Università di Bologna in collaborazione con la Regione Emilia-Romagna, capofila della campagna di informazione e comunicazione nazionale per la donazione del proprio corpo post mortem alla scienza

4' min read

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Direct experience on a human model is an irreplaceable tool for medical training of excellence and scientific research, as well as for the improvement of surgical and diagnostic practices, even in an era characterised by rapid technological development. However, in Italy there is still a certain reticence in donating one's body and post-mortem tissues, for the purposes of study, training and scientific research. In order to provide correct information on the issue and create social awareness among citizens and professionals, the Ministry of Health, at the proposal of the State-Regions Conference, has identified the Emilia-Romagna Region as the leader among the Regions for the realisation of a national information and communication campaign on the meaning of donating one's body to science, with the name "By me".

A possibility provided for by law

In Italy, citizens can order the donation of their bodies post mortem for research purposes from 2020, thanks to the Law 10 February 2020, no. 10. This measure has filled a regulatory gap, regulating the matter in a unified and comprehensive manner. Its aim is to guarantee a free and informed choice for citizens, as well as to protect the dignity of the human body, establishing that 'the use of the human body or post-mortem tissue shall be informed by the principles of solidarity and proportionality and shall be regulated in a manner that ensures respect for the human body'.

It is now therefore possible to donate one's own tissues post mortem in safety. The activation of a legislative and structural 'protection network', which guarantees the donor from the expression of informed consent, to the appointment of a trustee, to the sound ethical and scientific training of health professionals, to the control of the chain. The reference centres for the preservation and use of deceased bodies are recognised by the Ministry of Health following verification that they meet the strict and stringent requirements set out in the Decree of the Director General for Health Prevention of 31 May 2021. As a further guarantee of the quality of the reference centres, the recent Decree of the Ministry of Health of 24 April 2024 provides for inspections at least every two years in order to verify the permanence of the requirements and the suitability of the accredited centres.

Increasing awareness

Yet, the option of donation is still little known and widespread, despite the fact that there is a solid trust of Italians in scientific research in health and medicine. According to the findings of the Hospitals and Health Report 2022 (promoted by Aiop and carried out by Censis), for 93.7% of those interviewed, public spending on research in health and healthcare should not represent a cost, but an investment. Added to this is the fact that Italy, according to the analysis by Elsevier 2022 - which analysed the quality of world research production from 2006 to 2022 - ranks first in the medical and health sciences. The country also achieves high quality standards for medical and health sciences, and ranks second in clinical sciences (after the UK and ahead of France), a field in which there is also significant growth.

Awareness-raising activities on the importance of conscious donation for the improvement of medical and surgical training and for the promotion of knowledge and scientific research can therefore contribute to overcoming the psychological and emotional resistance that hinders the culture of donation. "From an ethical point of view, the donation of the body for scientific research purposes is a noble gesture of high civil and solidarity value, an act of utmost generosity that contributes to producing new knowledge useful for the protection and improvement of public health," the Emilia-Romagna Region explained in a note.

Promote donation

The communication campaign presented by the Emilia-Romagna Region's Information and Communication Agency aims to inform citizens of the possibility of donating one's body to science, by providing nationwide information materials and products with a social impact, which can be used by all the Regions and all the National Reference Centres. The campaign also includes informative activities to promote the ethics of donation, respect for the dignity and autonomy of the people involved (including donors and their relatives), according to an informed, conscious donation that respects the donor's wishes. The initiatives will also involve the relatives of those who have donated, as well as students and young doctors from the University of Bologna School of Medicine, who will offer a testimonyof the importance of practical experience on the bodies of donors - the first patients - for medical training and the development of professional ethics.

Clear and transparent communication

However, the focus will also be on data, from the results obtained by scientific research with the contribution of donations, to those concerning the institutional and legislative perimeter - the so-called 'safety belt' activated around body donation -, control of the supply chain, and postgraduate training courses. Clarity and transparency are essential elements to introduce a subject that, at first glance, could be disorientating. It is inevitable, in fact, that the possibility of an important choice such as the donation of the body post mortem for study purposes requires a period of mental processing in those who experience it. It is therefore more important than ever that communications on the subject use language that is sensitive and comprehensible to all, while also highlighting the ethical significance of donation.