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Protect the Dignity of Those Who Donate Their Bodies for Medical Research and Give Peace of Mind to Families

When a family chooses to donate a loved one’s body for education or research, they do so with the hope that they will help others. Regrettably, many are unknowingly contributing to a for-profit industry in which the body of their loved one could be traded as raw material in a largely unregulated national market. 

  • Medical schools, researchers, physicians, mortuary science students, and other medical professionals rely on donated human bodies and body parts for training and to develop new medicines, treatments, and surgical instruments.
  • Universities and state-run anatomy programs do not actively solicit donations; in fact, some schools have reported that competition from body brokers has reduced the number of bodies donated to schools to train students and conduct research.
  • When a family donates a loved one’s organs or tissues for transplantation, the process is transparent and tightly regulated; and families can specify which organs they wish to donate and can opt for an open-casket funeral.
  • While there are regulations that govern how the body of an individual may be donated, once a body is donated for research or medical training, there is little federal or state regulation over what happens to it. Few rules mean few consequences when bodies are mistreated.
  • In almost every state, it is legal for anyone, even if they do not have training, to sell the human remains of adults. A body broker can sell a donated human body for $5,000 - $10,000 or more. Bodies and body parts can be repeatedly sold and leased across state lines. As a result, it can be difficult to track what becomes of donors’ bodies or body parts, ensure they are handled with dignity, and returned to their loved ones after cremation.
  • The lucrative business model for body brokers hinges on access to a large supply of free bodies, which often come from the poor and elderly. In return for a body, brokers typically offer free removal and cremation.

The Solution

The solution to the heartbreak experienced by too many families is the Consensual Donation & Research Integrity Act (S.1270/H.R.2589), which has been introduced in both the House and Senate, will provide the Secretary of HHS with oversight and authority over facilities that receive donated human bodies and body parts for education and research. The bill will protect the dignity of donors and give families peace of mind by creating standards for inspection; chain of custody; labeling and packaging; and proper disposition.

Download a Guide to the Consensual Donation and Research Integrity Act

The registration and related requirements do not apply to:

  • The Organ Transplantation Network (a public-private partnership that links the professionals involved in the U.S. donation and transplantation system) or its members.
  • Schools of medicine, dentistry, and mortuary science and other research and training entities that do not sell whole human bodies or body parts for profit.
    • Schools will actually benefit from this billbecause they will not have to compete with the unfair marketing practices of body brokers.

NFDA strongly urges the Senate and House of Representatives to pass the Consensual Donation & Research Integrity Act and provide necessary minimum standards to the whole-body donation process and ensure donors’ bodies are treated with dignity and respect at all times. The families of donors deserve peace of mind, knowing their loved one’s body will make a difference.

Original Sponsors

  • Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Murphy (D-CT)
  • Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX)

Committees of Jurisdiction

  • House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Subcommittee on Health)
  • Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee

Have Questions?

If you have questions about the Consensual Donation and Research Integrity Act, contact NFDA Senior Vice President, Advocacy, Lesley Witter at lwitter@nfda.org. 

Impact on Families

A broker in Detroit sold and rented body parts infected with HIV and hepatitis … another sold body parts for use in U.S. Army blast experiments … another left bodies and body parts to decompose due to improper storage … another dissected donor bodies with a chainsaw. These are just a few of the stories detailed in an article published by Reuters, detailing the devastating impact of body brokers.

Hear about the impact of body brokers from donor families in these news stories:

WBBM-TV Chicago

KING-TV

WPMT-TV

Reuters Expose on Body Brokers

Harvard Medical School

The Stories of Other Families

News Coverage & Bill Status

Listen

Listen to an episode of the NFDA podcast, A Brush With Death, from July 2021 to learn more about body brokers and the CDRI Act.