Harvard University has agreed to pay 53 million dollars to settle claims related to a former morgue manager who stole and sold body parts donated for medical research. A Boston state court on Tuesday preliminarily approved the agreement, according to U.S. media reports. Harvard noted that the distribution of funds may take several months.
The former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue, Cedric Lodge, was fired in 2023 and sentenced to eight years in prison in December after pleading guilty to trafficking in stolen human remains. On Monday, Harvard announced it would seek court approval to create “two settlement funds for class action lawsuits totaling 53 million dollars“.
Sentence for the former morgue manager
Deans of Harvard Medical School, George Daley and Bernard Chang, stated in a joint letter that they are “grateful for the cooperation with the plaintiffs” to move forward with a priority on supporting families and the organ donor program, as well as avoiding prolonged litigation. They called Lodge’s actions “despicable, repulsive, and a glaring betrayal of our values as a medical community”.
Details of the crime and further steps
Investigators found that Lodge and his wife had been removing body parts from the medical school “without the knowledge or permission of his employer, the donor, or the donor’s family” since 2018, then sending them to buyers in other states. Lodge’s wife, Denise, was previously sentenced to one year in prison. Six other individuals who purchased human remains from him pleaded guilty and were also sentenced.
Harvard Medical School announced that starting from the 2027-2028 academic year, it will establish an annual scholarship “as a token of gratitude and in honor of all our anatomical donors”. According to the settlement plan, the school will also provide affected families with a statement condemning Lodge’s crimes and detailing changes made to its anatomical donation program.
Source: Euronews
