COIMBATORE: The body of a 74-year-old man, who died of renal failure on Saturday morning, was donated to Coimbatore Medical College for study as per his wish. Aravindan S, a dance teacher, had registered to donate his body in April this year.

After his death at 6.55am, his eyes were donated to Aravind Eye Hospital. Later in the afternoon, his widow Vasantha S handed over the body to government hospital which will hand it over to Coimbatore Medical College’s anatomy department.

“We don’t see many people coming forward to register for cadaver donation because of the complicated process involved,” said Noorullah S H, a volunteer who helps people with registrations. “Usually, it is senior citizens who come forward. And, only if there is a volunteer or organisation which assists them with the procedure,” he said.

With 17 bodies donated in 2012 and 2013, experts feel body donation to help students is not as prevalent as organ donation. “In the last four years, we have had barely 500 registrations in the city for body donation,” an official of the Coimbatore government hospital said.

Government hospital officials feel that more awareness campaigns will help bring up the rate of cadaver donation in the city.

