BOSTON (Dunya News) - Harvard Medical School has agreed to pay $53 million to settle class-action lawsuits brought by relatives of body donors whose remains were stolen and sold on the black market by a former morgue manager.
Harvard Medical School deans George Q. Daley and Bernard S. Chang announced the settlement in a letter to the school community Tuesday, describing the conduct of former morgue manager Cedric Lodge as “despicable, abhorrent” and a serious betrayal of the medical school’s values.
The settlement, which still requires court approval, will establish two funds totaling $53 million to resolve the lawsuits. The cases were filed by 47 relatives of people whose donated remains may have been mishandled or sold.
The settlement applies to relatives or designated beneficiaries of people who donated their bodies to Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gift Program between Jan. 1, 2018, and March 31, 2023.
Harvard has said it cannot determine with certainty which donors’ remains were taken by Lodge. Following his 2023 arrest, the school reviewed information from federal investigators, records showing when donated remains were sent for cremation and Lodge’s presence on campus to identify donors who may have been affected.
Lodge was sentenced last year to eight years in prison after admitting to stealing and selling human body parts. Prosecutors said he removed brains, skin, hands and faces from cadavers and shipped them to buyers in Pennsylvania and other states.
His wife, Denise Lodge, was sentenced to more than a year in prison for helping him. Six other people who purchased remains from Lodge also pleaded guilty and received prison sentences, according to Harvard.
In one particularly disturbing case, prosecutors said Lodge supplied human skin to a buyer who intended to tan it and use it to bind a book. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan Martin described the episode as a “deeply horrifying reality.”
Harvard typically returns donated bodies to families or arranges for cremation after they have been used for medical education and research. Lodge admitted removing body parts before cremation. The university has maintained that he acted without its knowledge or authorization.
Daley and Chang said Lodge’s conduct did not reflect the respect and gratitude the university holds for people who voluntarily donate their bodies to medical education.
“We reaffirm our deep sorrow and empathy for the families of donors who may have been impacted,” the deans said.
Under the proposed settlement, Harvard Medical School will also provide affected families with a statement condemning Lodge’s actions and outlining reforms made to its Anatomical Gift Program.
The school plans to establish an annual financial aid scholarship for medical students beginning in the 2027-28 academic year in honor of anatomical donors.
Harvard also said it has implemented recommendations made by an independent panel of outside experts appointed in 2023 to review the Anatomical Gift Program after Lodge was charged.