Harvard to pay $53M to settle body part theft lawsuit
What's the story
Harvard University has agreed to a $53 million settlement over civil lawsuits related to the illegal sale of human remains. The remains had been donated for scientific research at its medical school. The scandal erupted when Cedric Lodge, a former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School, was arrested in 2023. He had pleaded guilty in May last year and was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling body parts as part of a nationwide scheme.
Scheme
Lodge sold organs, skin, brains, and dissected heads
Lodge's illegal activities included stealing and selling organs, skin, brains, and dissected heads from cadavers donated to Harvard from 2018 through at least March 2020.
He took the remains without permission from his employer or the donor's family.
The remains were then transported to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire where they were shipped off to buyers in other states.
Move
Harvard will also issue a statement to claimant families
Along with Lodge, several other defendants have also pleaded guilty in related cases and were sentenced.
The Harvard Crimson reported that as part of the settlement, Harvard Medical School will issue a statement to claimant families via a live webinar.
The statement will confirm that Lodge's conduct was "morally reprehensible" and inconsistent with Harvard's standards, along with a summary of changes made to its Anatomical Gift Program.
Scholarship initiative
Harvard Medical School will establish an annual financial aid scholarship
Along with the monetary settlement, Harvard Medical School has also agreed to establish an annual financial aid scholarship for medical students from the 2027-28 academic year.
The school said that this move is intended "in appreciation and in honor of all of our anatomical donors."
Affected families began suing Harvard in summer 2023, soon after Lodge's indictment, accusing it of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.
Official statement
Deans called Lodge's actions 'morally reprehensible'
In response to the lawsuits, Harvard Medical School deans George Daley and Edward Hundert had called Lodge's actions "morally reprehensible."
They wrote in an email sent on Monday that the settlement would allow both parties to avoid "prolonged litigation."
The deans also stressed that these events do not reflect their reverence for the altruistic individuals who selflessly donate their bodies to their Anatomical Gift Program.