Le don du corps à la science enfin encadré juridiquement

Abstract

Until very recently, the decision to donate a body to science was governed solely by the funeral policy. There was no legal framework setting out how such bodies were to be used. The Descartes mass grave scandal set in motion a process of reflection that led to the introduction of several provisions in the French Public Health Code. Reception facilities must now be licensed and have governance in place. Use may only be made of bodies once plans have been reviewed by scientific and educational ethics committees, and donors must be better informed as to how their bodies will be used. Families are given wider scope for inclusion, meaning that they can be notified of the wishes of the deceased, and of the possibility of having the body returned to them for burial. These long-awaited legal provisions are a real step forward. However, it is unfortunate that this work did not provide an opportunity for wider reflection on the use of bodies, particularly for research purposes. In fact, the provisions and supervisory bodies change according to whether the ultimate goal is research on bodies arising from a donation, research on samples, or research on brain-dead persons. It would have been worthwhile to standardize procedures and control bodies, and perhaps to include research on antique corpses in this reflection.