Inside the largely unregulated market for bodies donated to science: 'It's harder to sell hot dogs on a cart'

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While most donors consent to donation for research and education, legally, the agreements can include addendums that allow for donors to be used for 'non-medical projects' that can include 'crime scene investigation' and 'vehicle safety.'

Every year, an estimated 20,000 people donate their bodies to science for the purpose of medical research and education. But unlike organ donation, these body parts can be bought and sold for profit — a market with very few federal regulations.

"Medical research and education, particularly education, is a vague term and it is not clearly defined even in the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act," says Johnson."The misleading of families across the industry is quite common.

Hansen's husband's body was sold by Biological Resource Center founder Stephen Gore to the DOD without her consent. Court records showed that those donors were used in a variety of military and ballistics testing, with some resulting in"the complete mutilation and desecration of the donor's body." Disturbing evidence also emerged during Special Agent Johnson's investigation into body broker Arthur Rathburn, whose Detroit warehouse was later described by investigators as a"house of horrors."

In 2009, Donor Referral Services owner Philip Guyett Jr., pleaded guilty to wire fraud for falsifying medical information in order to offload tissue designated for transplant with infectious or communicable diseases. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

 

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HandibodeJ We strongly recommend everyone watch the new CBS Reports Documentary “Body Brokers”! Apparently some funeral homes and Crematoriums are selling bodies, instead of cremating them!

I would pick that for myself over being dissected any day.

Jesus that’s terrible

Oh my god that is horrific. Poor woman.

So very sad. I am so sorry for her loss and then have to relive it again is just horrible.

'donate' - 'detonate', common autocorrect L

This is macabre!

Shant be donating my body to science just so some freakish elite can eat me before they sexually abuse kids.

Of course people should be better informed, but I have to say I’m much more willing to donate my body to traffic safety science than I am to let random students practice surgery. Seems like my cadaver would help far more people in traffic safety science.

Well guess that’s off my list of things LOL thought it would be neat to donate to science when I’m gone but not to be used as a test dummy LOL I’ll haunt you for that 😉

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