Harvard agrees to pay millions after morgue manager sold body parts
Harvard Medical School has agreed to pay $53 million to families who alleged the school mishandled the donated remains of loved ones.
Harvard University has reached a $53 million settlement to resolve lawsuits from families alleging mishandling of donated bodies. The agreement, proposed in a Boston court, stems from former morgue manager Cedric Lodge's guilty plea for stealing and selling human remains on the black market. Lodge, 58, operated his scheme from 2018 to 2021, allegedly using his position as manager of Harvard Medical School's Anatomical Gifts Program to dismember cadavers.
The medical school, in a statement, expressed the settlement funds will establish an annual financial-aid scholarship for medical students in appreciation of donors. Lodge and six other co-conspirators were indicted and pleaded guilty in 2025. The hospital's letter, signed by Deans George Daley and Bernard Chang, acknowledged Lodge's actions as morally reprehensible and aligned with Harvard's standards.
While the settlement concludes the case, the medical school emphasized the ongoing process of healing from this painful incident.
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