Harvard to pay $53m to families after morgue manager sold body parts from donated cadavers

Harvard Medical School has agreed to pay $53 million to the families of body donors after a former morgue manager stole and sold human remains.

George Q. Daley, dean of Harvard Medical School, and Bernard S. Chang, dean for medical education, informed the school community in a letter dated Aug. 18 of the class-action settlement. The settlement funds will be distributed to the families of body donors.

In the letter, the two deans called the case "vile, despicable and an egregious betrayal of the values of medicine," adding that they wished to "express again our deep sorrow and empathy to the families of donors who may have been affected."

The lawsuit stems from the 2023 revelation that Cedric Lodge, who worked as a morgue manager at Harvard Medical School for nearly 30 years, had removed and sold organs, brains, skin and facial tissue from donated cadavers.

Federal prosecutors said Lodge diverted body parts between 2018 and 2022, taking portions of cadavers intended for research and education before they were cremated. He transported the removed parts to his home and sold them to buyers. On some occasions he allowed prospective buyers into the morgue to select parts themselves.

Court records show Lodge also passed along skin to be tanned and made into book covers. A federal prosecutor described the practice as a "horrifying reality."

Lodge pleaded guilty to transporting stolen remains and was sentenced in December to eight years in prison. His wife received a sentence of one year and one day. Six accomplices who purchased remains also pleaded guilty and were sentenced.

Harvard has been unable to identify which donors' remains were taken. Of the 438 donors who passed through the morgue between 2018 and 2023, an estimated 350 to 400 are believed to have been affected.

Alongside the settlement payment, Harvard said it would establish a medical school scholarship in honor of body donors beginning in the 2027–2028 academic year.