Dallas County officials were set to discuss the unclaimed body program in a closed session, which had previously saved the county money in burial and cremation costs. However, an analysis found failures in contacting family members of deceased individuals before declaring the bodies unclaimed. Families discovered that their relatives had been provided to a medical school, causing anger and trauma among them.
One such case was Victor Honey, an Army veteran who was homeless and mentally ill in Dallas. His body was used by medical companies without his family’s knowledge until NBC News informed them. This led to changes in policy, with the medical school explicitly banning the use of unclaimed bodies and firing officials responsible for the program.
Companies that had unknowingly received body parts of unclaimed individuals, such as DePuy Synthes and Boston Scientific, promised to review their transactions with the medical school. The Army also stated it was reviewing its reliance on the program. The Texas Funeral Service Commission issued a moratorium on out-of-state body shipments to investigate issues related to unclaimed bodies.
The president of the Health Science Center, Trent-Adams, acknowledged that the program had strayed from its mission of educating medical students due to an influx of unclaimed bodies. Moving forward, the program will only obtain specimens from consenting donors to refocus on education. A town hall will be held to address concerns and ensure no unclaimed bodies are used in the future.
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