The Duke University School of Medicine has temporarily suspended operations at an anatomy training lab after 13 cadavers tested positive for pathogens between 2019 and 2023, in violation of procedures. The school reported low risk to workers due to the use of personal protective equipment and no known infections, but is testing approximately 700 people who may have worked in the lab for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, syphilis, and HIV. The lab will reopen once safety protocols are assured.
A lawsuit filed in Massachusetts alleges that up to 400 donated cadavers could have been involved in a black market scheme run by the morgue manager at Harvard Medical School. Earlier this week, the manager was indicted on allegations of human remains trafficking. The remains came from people who volunteered for Harvard's anatomical gifts program and agreed to donate their bodies for education, teaching, or research purposes. The civil lawsuit was filed by the son of a woman whose body was donated to Harvard for medical research following her death in February 2019.
A woman is demanding the return of her mother's remains after learning that her father's body parts were allegedly stolen in a theft ring at the Harvard Medical School morgue. The morgue manager, his wife, and several others were charged with trafficking stolen human remains. The stolen remains were allegedly sold to others, including a man who tanned human skin to create leather. Harvard Medical School expressed its shock and disappointment at the incident, calling it a betrayal of the individuals who donated their bodies to advance medical education and research.
A former manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue, his wife, and three others have been indicted for stealing and selling human body parts, including heads, brains, skin, and bones, that were donated to the school. The stolen remains were sold to buyers through the mail or picked up at the morgue. The defendants were part of a nationwide network of people who bought and sold remains stolen from the school and an Arkansas mortuary. The indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods.
