VIJAYAWADA: Body of a 77-year-old woman was donated to Katuri Medical College and Hospital in Guntur on Wednesday. The woman, Regula Swatantra Bharti, had given consent to donating her body for medical research and experiments as she believed that she should contribute to the community even after her death.
Bharti worked as a press operator at Singareni Collieries in Kothagudem, Telangana. She continued living there even after retirement. However, due to declining health, she moved to Vijayawada six months ago and lived with her younger brother Regula Satish and his wife, Jayasri.
She passed away in Vijayawada on Tuesday night due to age-related issues. As per her last wish, her body was donated to Katuri Medical College. Before her passing, she convinced her family to not cremate her body. She had also signed a consent form to ensure her would be handed over for educational purposes after her death.
Bharati had no children and was supported by her brother’s family in her final days.
Born on August 15, 1947, the day India got independence, she was rightly named Swatantra Bharati. True to her name, she lived independently. She embraced the Communist ideology.
A team from Katuri Medical College collected her body from the Vijayawada Government Hospital. Representatives of the college said Bharati’s body will be used by the Department of Anatomy for research purposes. Her eyes were donated to the LV Prasad Eye Institute.