Commemorating the dead is a tradition dating back to pre-Christian times and the holiday, for which the name Dušičky was coined, is one of the most important in the Czech Republic. At the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, it has been associated with the Commemoration of the Donors of Bodies since 2018, which took place for the sixth time this year. While for last year's commemorative event we used the Mendel Refectory in Augustinian Abbey, this year's event was held in the ceremonial hall of the Central Cemetery in Brno.
The newly reconstructed premises, originally designed by the famous architect Bohuslav Fuchs, were opened only a few weeks ago and the Pieta for Body Donors, organized by the Society of Medics and the Anatomical Institute, was the first major test of its kind. All the more so as the arrivals filled all the seats and many others watched the meeting standing up. "I am pleased to see that more and more students, including those from the first year, come to the event every year," observed the head of the Anatomical Institute, Associate Professor Marek Joukal. He pointed to the fact that students are not only an important driving force behind the commemorative meetings, but it is also the students who, as "silent teachers", are helped by the body donors on their way to becoming general practitioners, surgeons, neurologists or orthopaedic surgeons.
The evening meeting, which included musical performances by the DNA ensemble, organist Karel Bezdíček and the head of the Institute of Physiology, Professor Petr Babula, was conducted by members of the Medics' Association, Alžběta Novotná and David Neuman. Short speeches related to the importance of body donation were given by their classmates Kristián Kalianko and Irene Cuesta Redondo (MIMSA). Other speakers included the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs and External Relations, Professor Eva Brichtová, the aforementioned Associate Professor Joukal and, on behalf of the City of Brno, the Deputy Mayor, Master Jaroslav Suchý.
The last two mentioned a topic related to Pieta, namely the project to build a memorial to the donors of the bodies, which the city of Brno has expressed support for, and for which a collection called Donate (se) is currently underway. This year's Pieta also aroused media interest; in addition to the Czech Press Agency, Czech Radio and Czech Television were interested in the event, whose crew spent the whole day filming a report on the topic of body donation for the 168 Hours programme at the Anatomical Institute. Hopefully, thanks to this attention, the money for the memorial will be raised and next year it will be unveiled as part of the Pieta ceremony. You can contribute to the collection for the memorial to body donors via the Donio platform or directly to the transparent account of the Medics' Association.
