Harvard to pay $53 million over sale of human remains from medical school | Gravitas
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Harvard Medical School dean, George Daley, has expressed deep sorrow and empathy for the families of donors Photograph: (X)
Apart from the monetary compensation, the Harvard Medical School will make a statement, affirming that the convict's conduct was morally reprehensible. It has also made changes to its anatomical gift programme, and will establish an annual financial aid scholarship for medical students.
The globally-acclaimed Harvard University has now come under the lens for an organ-selling racket. It has now agreed to pay a staggering 53 million US dollars to settle the civil lawsuits in this regard.
Now, this pertains to the dead bodies donated by families to the Harvard medical school for research and teaching purposes.
However, a big scandal unfolded from 2018 to 2020.
The then morgue manager, Cedric Lodge, removed organs, brains, skin, hands, and other parts from the donated bodies before they could be disposed of.
Without the knowledge of his employer or the donor, he and his wife sold and even shipped the body remains to different locations in US which were resold.
In December last year, Lodge was sentenced to eight years in prison, whereas his wife got a one-year jail term.
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After Lodge was arrested, the aggrieved families started filing lawsuits against Harvard accusing it of failing to adequately protect the remains entrusted to it.
In wake of this, the settlement is seen as a bid to avoid prolonged litigation.
Apart from the monetary compensation, the Harvard Medical School will make a statement, affirming that the convict's conduct was morally reprehensible.
It has also made a number of changes to its anatomical gift programme, and will establish an annual financial aid scholarship for medical students in the next academic year.
While the Harvard Medical School dean, George Daley, has expressed deep sorrow and empathy for the families of donors, their future course of action remains to be seen.