McGill students combine poetry, prose in remembering "their cadavers"

The first speaker, Karen Devon, recalled "literally touching someone's heart - imagining the sounds of its steady pulse," and her belated awareness of small scars, signs of the donor's individuality. Melanie Mondou remarked on "the marvel of nature that never stops transforming itself." Their sincerity moved many of the donors' family members. Some, like the relatives of Ermina Sardani, who died Apr. 17, 2000, were initially sceptical about the notion of a family member willing her remains for educational purposes. "It goes against tradition," said Sardani's daughter-in-law, Gina Rigolli, who recalled how her mother-- in-law had requested help to find the forms she needed to sign. When no family members responded, the 73-- year-old former midwife's assistant got the documents herself, signed them and asked family members to act as witnesses.