By Christopher Rhodes
Blavity
Reprinted – by Texas Metro News
https://blavity.com/
A year-long NBC News investigation revealed a shocking practice by two Texas counties of leasing hundreds of deceased people’s bodies for medical research without notifying their families. The reports prompted two members of Congress to demand answers from officials in their districts over what appears to be an illegal scheme to sell human bodies. The spotlight has prompted reforms and finally brought some closure for families looking for their relatives.
‘Unclaimed’ bodies used for medical research without notifying kin
NBC News‘ probe into the fate of unclaimed bodies found that Dallas and Tarrant counties had leased hundreds of bodies for medical research without informing next of kin, leaving families unaware of the fate of their loved ones. The investigation led to several reports by the news outlet in its “Dealing the Dead” series. The investigation found that, since 2019, the two Texas counties had leased over 2000 “unclaimed” bodies to the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Forth Worth. Hundreds of these bodies were dissected and used in medical research, after which they were cremated and buried or scattered. In many cases, the next of kin or families of the deceased were not notified or asked for consent, leaving relatives in the dark concerning the fate of their loved ones.
The reporting highlighted the story of Victor Carl Honey, an Army veteran who died in 2022 at 58 after years of poor health and estrangement from his family. Honey’s body was transferred from Baylor University Medical Center to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office to the UNT Health Science Center. Attempts were made to contact some of his relatives, but his son, who shares his father’s first and last names, wasn’t contacted. Honey’s body was dissected, and parts of it sold for hundreds of dollars individually to various companies and even the Army for medical research, a portion of the millions of dollars UNT has brought in by selling cadavers. After Honey’s family found out months later that he died after a chance encounter with a woman who once stayed with him in a homeless shelter, they discovered from NBC (which was able to track down his relatives despite government officials failing to do so) that his body had been used for medical research without their knowledge.
Reporters and members of Congress push for accountability, change
The response to NBC’s revelations about the body leasing program has been immense. Several families were able to track down their loved ones, including families who didn’t even know their relatives had died until learning through NBC’s reports. After initially defending its actions as a necessary and valuable medical research practice, the University of North Texas eventually suspended the “Willed Body Program” through which it received these remains. Officials in Dallas and Tarrant counties also indicated that they were reconsidering the program in light of the details of the investigation.
Outraged by the reports, Democratic Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Mark Veasey also stepped in, seeking answers and accountability. The duo, which represents parts of Dallas and Tarrant counties, sent a letter to the medical examiners of both counties in October, demanding more information about the leasing program, including what efforts were made to notify families about their deceased loved ones and suggesting that the program violated legal requirements that they make “a diligent inquiry to find a relative” before labeling a body as “unclaimed.” The lawmakers noted the change that had been put in place. Still, they criticized that the announced reforms do not “ensure that proper safeguards are now in place to prevent the unapproved cremation of individuals or veterans who may readily contactable next of kin.”
With pressure from reporters and members of Congress, additional steps will likely be taken to prevent the types of scenarios that happened to the families of people like Victor Honey. Already, the scrutiny placed on these programs has led to closure for some families, and continuing pressure to change the way deceased individuals are handled may prevent other families from going through the same uncertainty and shock about the fate of their loved ones.
