Russia has a problem with dead bodies - it doesn't have enough of them

Russian doctors are struggling with a shortage of dead bodies because of the war in Ukraine.

It sounds confusing, but according to Newsweek, the Baza Telegram channel said doctors are travelling overseas to countries including Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan to attend courses to get dissection experience.

The channel reportedly cites Aleksey Ivanov, the head of a private anatomical laboratory in Russia as reporting these experiences because of the West's sanctioning of the country.

"Before the beginning of the [war], the shortage was dealt with with the help of the United States - the States supply cadavers for many countries, including Russia. However, after February 24, 2022, deliveries to our country ceased," Baza allegedly reported on Wednesday.

In November 2022, Maria Potemkina, head of a high-tech educational development team at the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University in Moscow, told Gazeta.ru that doctors and medical students are being trained using virtual reality.

Potemkina described the method as "another educational technique."

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"Simulators created using VR technologies provide high reliability and the maximum effect of immersion in the real work of a doctor," she said.

"The student can assess the patient's condition, including using instrumental research methods, and conduct treatment, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation."

She added: "In my opinion, and in the opinion of experts, VR simulators are valuable because we can use them to safely [re]create life-threatening situations for both the doctor and the patient, which we cannot recreate during training."

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