For five years, the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth received unclaimed bodies from Dallas and Tarrant counties. These bodies were assessed for medical use, with those testing positive for infectious diseases or decomposing being cremated. The remaining bodies were embalmed or frozen, with some used to train future medical professionals and others cut into pieces and leased out to various entities. This practice of using unclaimed bodies for research is legal in most of the U.S. and has been seen as economically beneficial, saving taxpayers money on burial costs and providing specimens for medical advancements.
However, a recent NBC News investigation revealed that several families were unaware of what had happened to their missing relatives who had been given to the medical program. As a result, the Health Science Center suspended the use of unclaimed bodies, fired officials involved in the program, and apologized to affected families. Nine more families have since come forward to share similar experiences.
To assist these families in finding answers, NBC News has published a database of over 1,800 individuals whose bodies were donated to the Health Science Center from Dallas and Tarrant counties since 2019. This database was compiled from spreadsheets obtained through open records requests from county medical examiners. The controversy surrounding the use of unclaimed bodies for research highlights the importance of transparency and consent in such practices.
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