Harvard University has agreed to pay a $53m settlement to resolve civil lawsuits stemming from the illegal theft and sale of human remains that had been donated to its medical school for scientific research.
A former Harvard medical school morgue manager, Cedric Lodge, 58, was sentenced in December last year to eight years in prison after he had pleaded guilty in May to stealing and selling human body parts in a nationwide scheme. Prosecutors said this had involved the theft and sale of organs, skin, brains and dissected heads from cadavers donated to Harvard from 2018 through at least March 2020.
His wife, Denise Lodge, 65, was also sentenced, to 12 months and one day in prison for her role in the black market scheme.
Lodge “took the remains without the knowledge or permission of his employer, the donor, or the donor’s family” and transported them to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife would ship them to buyers in other states, according to a US justice department statement.
“Remains stolen and sold by the Lodges were transported from the morgue in Boston to locations in Salem, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania,” the statement said. “Many of the remains purchased from Lodge were resold for a profit.”
Several other defendants also entered guilty pleas in related cases and were sentenced, the justice department added.
The Harvard Crimson reported that as part of the settlement, Harvard Medical School will make a statement to claimant families via a live webinar affirming 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.
The school will also establish an annual financial aid scholarship for medical students starting in the 2027-28 academic year, which it said is intended “in appreciation and in honor of all of our anatomical donors”.
Affected families began filing lawsuits against Harvard in the summer of 2023, shortly after Lodge was indicted. The suits alleged negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and infliction of emotional distress.
In a statement at the time entitled “An abhorrent betrayal”, the Harvard Medical School deans George Daley and Edward Hundert called Lodge’s actions “morally reprehensible”.
Daley and the dean for medical education, Bernard S Chang, wrote in an email sent on Monday to Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine affiliates that the settlement would allow Harvard and the plaintiffs to avoid “prolonged litigation”, according to the Harvard Crimson’s report.
“While Lodge’s sentencing concludes the criminal case against him, and the class action settlement agreement when fulfilled would conclude the civil cases, the process of recovering from this painful incident continues,” Daley and Chang wrote.
“These events do not reflect the reverence we hold for the altruistic individuals who selflessly donate their bodies to our Anatomical Gift Program. We reaffirm our deep sorrow and empathy for the families of donors who may have been impacted.”
