Donated Body Scandals

USA Today has recently published an extensive report describing some of the problems that may arise with anatomical gifts.  See Stephanie Armour, Illegal Trade in Bodies Shakes Loved Ones, USA Today, April 27, 2006 and Stephanie Armour, Donated Bodies Sometimes are Sold for Personal Profit, USA Today, April 28, 2006.

Here are some of the highlights of this report:

• Most donations of bodies are “treated with respect and carefully tracked to ensure remains are used properly.”
• “Trafficking in body parts illegally harvested from the dead is a lucrative, underground business driven by growing demand for human bone and tissue.”
• In the past 19 years, over 16,800 families have brought suit asserting corpse misuse.
• There is limited federal or state regulation of the use of bodies as contrasted with the system in place for organ transplants.
• “[A]n entire body, parceled out and delivered to the highest bidder, can fetch from $5,000 to tens of thousands of dollars.”