On Friday, November 12, a ceremony was held at the Department of Anatomy of the Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, to honor the memory of body donors for anatomical purposes. The heart-shaped linden tree, which was planted here in cooperation with the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, will bear wooden leaves on its branches with the first names of the donors.
"It will be a place where relatives of donors can come to remember their loved ones under a beautiful and noble linden tree, or where our students can pay their respects to those who helped them in the study of the human body. I would like to thank everyone who participated in the creation of the sacred place with the Tree of Life, we appreciate it very much," said the head of the Department of Anatomy, prof. MUDr. David Kachlík, Ph.D.
The donor programme of the Department of Anatomy was established three years ago. Currently, there are almost 500 donors on its registry, among whom women are more prevalent. The youngest donor was born in 2001.
"We keep our promise to all voluntary donors. Without their generous gesture, our students would never have the required knowledge. No artificial model, even in the most perfect three-dimensional (3D) design, can replace the real human body in teaching. The noble goal is for us to be able to make the best possible use of the knowledge gained in this way for the benefit of the entire society," prof. Kachlík adds.
In cooperation with the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, the heart-shaped linden tree was chosen, because it is this tree in cemeteries that symbolically connects the world of the living and the dead. The Tree of Life will bear small wooden leaves on the branches with the first names of donors, so that they will never be forgotten for future generations. Even after death, one can do a generous deed and help once more by donating their body for scientific and educational purposes.
"The linden tree, our national tree, will be in this place for hundreds of years to commemorate those who, by their decisions, helped the development of medical science and teaching. We are glad that our faculty, by donating a linden tree, and our students, by making the wooden leaves, were able to participate in the founding of this important place of reverence," added the dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, prof. Ing. Róbert Marušák, Ph.D.
The grand opening was attended by a number of distinguished guests:
- prof. MUDr. Tomáš Zima, DrSc., rektor Univerzity Karlovy
- prof. MUDr. Milena Králíčková, Ph.D., prorektorka pro studijní záležitosti UK
- prof. MUDr. Václav Báča, Ph.D., rektor Vysoké školy polytechnické v Jihlavě
- prof. Ing. Róbert Marušák, Ph.D., děkan Fakulty lesnické a dřevařské ČZU v Praze
- prof. MUDr. Vladimír Komárek, CSc., děkan 2. lékařské fakulty UK
- Mons. ThDr. Jan Balík, PhD., generální vikář Arcibiskupství pražského
- prof. MUDr. Marek Babjuk, CSc., proděkan 2. lékařské fakulty UK
- MUDr. Petr Hájek, Ph.D., přednosta Ústavu anatomie Lékařské fakulty Hradec Králové
- Mgr. Renáta Zajíčková, starostka Městské části Praha 5
- prof. Ing. František Zahálka, Ph.D., předseda Akademického senátu UK
- Ing. Mgr. Matěj Lejsal, ředitel nadace Sue Ryder
- MUDr. Anna Malečková, členka senátu Univerzity Karlovy
- JUDr. Ing. Josef Staša, CSc., člen senátu Univerzity Karlovy
Ing. Libuše Stoklásková
koordinátorka dárcovského programu Ústavu anatomie 2. LF UK
