In 2021, Rosalie Chigariro became the first Black Zimbabwean woman to formally donate her body to science. Her decision marked a significant development in Zimbabwe’s medical education landscape, where cadaveric body donation remains uncommon due to cultural, structural, and historical factors. Her body was received by the University of Zimbabwe’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, where it contributed to anatomical and clinical instruction across multiple academic programmes for a period of four years. The university has recently concluded its use of her remains, commemorating her contribution in a formal gathering attended by faculty members, students, and her relatives.
Chigariro passed away at the age of 64 in South Africa. Despite spending her final days outside Zimbabwe, her request was for her body to be returned to her country of birth and used to advance the education of Zimbabwean health professionals. This was not a symbolic gesture but a deliberate act grounded in personal experience. Having lived with chronic health complications from infancy — including a prognosis at birth that suggested she would not survive beyond a few months — her decision was informed by a deep appreciation of medical care and a desire to facilitate its improvement for future generations.
According to the university’s official communication, the donation served as a vital tool for the education of students enrolled in medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, audiology, speech therapy, paramedicine, and related disciplines. In her remarks at the ceremony honouring Chigariro, Dr Josephine Chidaushe, Chairperson of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, referred to her as a “silent teacher” — a term used within anatomy departments globally to refer to body donors whose contributions, though posthumous, profoundly shape the training of health professionals.
The concept of body donation for medical education remains culturally sensitive in many African contexts. Zimbabwe is no exception. For many communities, traditional beliefs concerning the treatment of the dead, the significance of burial rituals, and the spiritual presence of ancestors can lead to hesitancy or rejection of anatomical donation. Additionally, systemic issues such as the absence of structured national frameworks for donation and lack of public education contribute to the rarity of such acts.
Chigariro’s donation thus occupies a unique space. It is not only an individual act of generosity but also an intervention in the way medical science is supported, understood, and practiced in Zimbabwe and across the region. Her contribution helped bridge a gap in anatomical learning that is often filled by imported teaching aids, limited-use models, or theoretical instruction. In resource-constrained settings, such as many Southern African medical institutions, the availability of cadavers for dissection remains low. Her donation directly addressed this deficiency.
The University of Zimbabwe’s anatomy department has historically depended on unclaimed bodies or court-mandated transfers, often without clear informed consent. In contrast, Chigariro’s donation was voluntary and documented, setting a precedent that affirms both ethical standards and community involvement in science. Her case could serve as a reference point for developing national or regional ethical frameworks around informed body donation, aligned with cultural sensitivities and human dignity.
While the global practice of body donation is often framed in biomedical and secular terms — prioritising utility, science, and altruism — African contexts invite a more nuanced reading. The cultural significance of the body after death, its relationship to ancestry and spiritual continuity, and its place within the communal fabric differ markedly from Western philosophical norms. Chigariro’s act did not necessarily oppose these traditions; rather, it may be understood as a re-interpretation of service and legacy within her cultural framework.
Her story, however, has not been widely publicised beyond Zimbabwean academic circles. It is perhaps indicative of a broader trend in which African contributions to medical science — particularly those that defy convention — do not always receive proportionate coverage or integration into global discourses. Nonetheless, the local impact is considerable. According to statements from faculty members at UZ, hundreds of students were directly educated using Chigariro’s anatomical contribution, and the impact will echo beyond the classroom into hospitals and clinics where these professionals will eventually serve.
In a broader pan-African context, Chigariro’s case invites renewed reflection on how African lives — and in this case, African bodies — can contribute to African knowledge systems. Her donation represents not the importation of Western ideals into African contexts, but rather an African-centred form of agency that values science, ethics, and education within a localised worldview. As calls grow for decolonising global health education and practice, her example underscores that transformation must not only come from institutional reform but also from courageous individual actions that redefine the narrative.
