Texas Legislator Vows Ban After University Used Unclaimed Bodies Without Families' Permission

Sep 27, 2024, 09:20 PM

A Texas state legislator has vowed to introduce legislation to ban the use of unclaimed bodies for medical research following an NBC News investigation. The investigation revealed that the University of North Texas Health Science Center obtained and studied hundreds of human specimens without making any effort to find, inform, or obtain consent from their families. The unclaimed bodies, often from individuals whose families could not be reached or could not afford cremation or burial, were used to teach medical students or sold to for-profit medical training and technology companies. Policies in Dallas and Tarrant counties allowed the sale or rental of the bodies of indigent individuals without making any effort to locate or inform their families.