Student Testimonial 
PCOM Body Donor Program

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to view the PCOM Donor Page. The decision to view this page can bring up various emotions and questions. I invite you to feel all those emotions and to please ask any questions you may have.

Future donors, donor families, and the PCOM community,

With my highest honor and privilege, I have the opportunity to share my perspective on the importance of human body donation and its impact on students' lives at PCOM.

I am a medical student at the PCOM Philadelphia Campus, DO Class of 2026. I am also a medical student from an organ donor family, and I can empathize with the similar emotions you may be experiencing.

Your loved ones are our first patients, and I can assure you that I treat them as such. It is a priority of PCOM to ensure that our human body donors are cared for and always respected. I treat our donors the way I hope my loved ones will be treated one day, with the respect and dignity they deserve.

Donating your body or of a loved one to PCOM allows students like me to learn from the best teachers. Your loved one will not only be a teacher for a medical school semester, but will positively impact the future of healthcare professionals' lives.

My favorite course is anatomy, and the reason why is because of our donors. The ability to view, dissect, hold organs, and view pathology is something that a textbook could never suffice. No human body is the same, which is how books or virtual anatomy platforms like to portray it. However, the opportunity to work with real human bodies makes our medical education unique and makes us better healthcare professionals.

As a future doctor finishing my first year, I have already placed my hands on different-sized hearts with different cardiac conditions. I have performed a laminectomy on the spine. I have removed blood clots and have had the opportunity to view the intricacy of cardiac valves. I have had experience dissecting the various nerves in the human body and have participated in numerous dissections.

I have learned so much from the best teachers, and I want you to know that their legacy will live on forever as I take all these experiences and more with me when I begin to practice. With your donation, you help us to advance the future of medicine.

Thank you for sharing such an invaluable gift with us and for the privilege of learning from your loved one.

C. Veronica Ruiz
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Candidate, Class of 2026