Honoring the silent teachers: Medical students' reflections following a body donor memorial ceremony in Türkiye

Body donor memorial ceremonies are increasingly used in anatomy education to promote respect for donors, ethical awareness, and humanistic values. Evidence on students' perceptions of such ceremonies in Türkiye, however, remains limited. This study examined medical students' reflections on the first body donor memorial ceremony held at Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine and their views on future ceremonies. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to medical students who entered medical school in the 2024-2025 academic year and progressed to Year 2 the following year. Attendance at the ceremony was voluntary. The survey included sociodemographic items, Likert-type statements evaluating the perceived impact of the ceremony among attendees, and questions on preferences for future ceremonies. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used. In total, 246 students participated; 104 (42.3%) had attended the ceremony. Most attendees reported increased admiration for body donors (90.3%) and greater care toward donated bodies (94.2%). Positive effects were noted for academic experience, personal growth, empathy, reflection on death, and ethical awareness. Support for continuing memorial ceremonies was high. Students favored annual ceremonies organized by anatomy staff and students, inclusion of donor families, and permanent symbolic objects, while social media and artistic performances were generally not supported. These findings indicate that memorial ceremonies are perceived as meaningful educational experiences that support ethical reflection and professional identity formation and, importantly, that such educational and humanistic benefits may be achieved even when a ceremony honors a single body donor.