Dr. Adam Kolatorowicz, professor of anatomy and executive director of the Anatomical Donation Program at Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM), received the Anatomical Services Award at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA).
Kolatorowicz earned the national recognition for his poster presentation, “Records Retention Policies for Anatomical Donation Programs,” which was co-authored by Pam Nelson and Amanda Collins. The award recognizes outstanding scientific studies and innovations related to donor program administration, donor management, tracking, storage and preparation.
The project addressed an important challenge facing anatomical donation programs nationwide: the management of sensitive donor records. While these programs are entrusted with maintaining confidential donor information, many lack formal guidance on how long records should be retained and when they should be securely destroyed.
To address this need, the LMU-DCOM Anatomical Donation Program developed a comprehensive Records Retention Policy designed to establish clear standards for preserving donor records, protecting privacy and ensuring secure document disposal. The policy was created through collaboration with legal, information technology and academic stakeholders and provides a framework for regulatory compliance, audit preparedness and operational efficiency.
The presentation outlined the step-by-step process used to develop and implement the policy, offering a blueprint that other anatomical donation programs can adapt to strengthen their own record-management practices.
The AACA Anatomical Services Award is presented annually for the best platform or poster presentation focused on donor preparation, donor management, program administration and related areas of anatomical services. Recipients are selected based on the quality and impact of their work within the field.
LMU-DCOM is home to one of the nation's largest medical schools and remains committed to advancing excellence in medical education, anatomical sciences and the ethical stewardship of donor programs that support the training of future health care professionals.
