Harvard agrees to $53M settlement over body parts stolen and sold by former morgue manager
Harvard Medical School says it agreed to pay $53 million to settle class action lawsuits by relatives of body donors whose remains were sold on the black market by its former morgue manager.
Harvard Medical School has reached a $53 million settlement with relatives of people whose donated body parts were allegedly stolen and sold by former morgue manager Cedric Lodge, according to a statement on Tuesday. The school's deans, George Q. Daley and Bernard S. Chang, described Lodge's actions as "despicable, abhorrent, and a flagrant betrayal of our values."
The lawsuit was filed by 47 relatives who donated their loved ones' remains to the school for research and education between January 2018 and March 2023. Harvard reviewed federal investigators' information and records to determine which donors may have been affected. Lodge was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling body parts, and his wife Denise Lodge was sentenced to just over a year for assisting him.
Six other individuals involved in the scheme have also pleaded guilty. Harvard plans to provide families with a statement condemning Lodge's actions and outlining program improvements, as well as create an annual scholarship for medical students starting in the 2027-28 academic year to honor anatomical donors.
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