Couple donates their bodies to help medical students gain valuable experience

    BIDDEFORD, Maine (WMTW) -- The family of a Maine couple is sharing the personal story about how the husband and wife of nearly 65 years made a decision to donate their bodies for scientific research.

Don Lessard, a proud Marine who served during the Korean War, met his wife, Terry, at a dance and took her to high school prom. They were married in September 1959 and had 10 children, 26 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Terry Lessard died in June 2024 at the age of 84. Her husband passed away six months later at the age of 93.

Among the couple's final wishes was to have their bodies donated to the University of New England. The Lessards, who were born and raised in Biddeford, were well aware of the UNE medical school on the sprawling campus along the Saco River.

The couple's two eldest daughters, Anne Wilson and Jocelyn Macolini, spoke with Maine's Total Coverage about why this choice was important to their parents.

"With my mom’s Parkinson's diagnosis, she felt: 'You know, if they can use my body for Parkinson's research, I don’t need my body anymore. Why not donate it to the medical school?'" Wilson said.

"They would often go out of their way to help others. They were very generous people," Macolini said.

UNE is completing a $93 million expansion of its medical school on the Portland campus, which will be ready for students this summer.

Dr. Jane Carreiro, the dean of the UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine, said the new facility will allow the school to expand each class size to 200. A total of 800 medical students will be learning at the facility.

Carreiro showed the morgue to Maine's Total Coverage, which will allow the school to use cadavers for as long as they need to, even years.

“Some people will say, like: 'I have this anomaly in my brain, and if you want to keep my brain forever so you can show it to students, go ahead and do it,” Carreiro said.

Carreiro also explained the impact human donors can have on a medical student's learning experience.

"If, they have blocked arteries, the student can feel that artery. They can hear it because when you squeeze it, it actually makes a sound," Carreiro said. "And when you’re talking to a patient and they don’t understand why their high cholesterol matters, you can say to them: 'You know what, I’ve actually palpitated a coronary artery with plaque like you have. This is what it feels like. And that’s why you have to stop eating french fries.'"

UNE medical students also stressed the importance of human donors and the impact they have on their education.

"The first day in the anatomy lab is a profound personal experience, and I would rate that on par with, say, the day of your wedding or the birth of a child," said first-year medical student Jim Barry. "It is a flashbulb memory that I will keep for the rest of my life."

"I'm calling my dad saying: 'I just held a human's heart, and I'm able to see my patient has a pacemaker, and I've never seen that before," said Justice Picard, another first-year medical student. "Just to be able to have that opportunity, you'll never get it again."

The donors are eventually cremated, and their remains are returned to their family. Each fall, the students hold a memorial service on campus where they meet the families and share stories.

"It’s really touching. I mean, these students, they become attached to their donor,” Carreiro said.

"These are our first patients, and we learn so much from them in a way that we're never going to be able to learn when we're looking at a textbook," said first-year medical student Kaylee Emery.

Wilson and Macolini said they are looking forward to the day their family gets to meet the medical students who spent time with their parents.

“This is a good thing. I’m proud of my mom and dad for doing that, for thinking beyond themselves, beyond the grave,” Wilson said.

Don and Terry were together for over six decades and shared a room at the nursing home until the end. Their daughters cherish many pictures of their life together, but one stands out.

“Six days before our mom died, we were there on a Saturday night, and my dad was holding my mom’s hand, and we took a picture – just of the hands," Wilson said. "It’s just symbolic of how they loved each other."

People who would like to learn more about the University of New England's anatomical donation program can contact the school.