The May 11th scandal involving bodies being sold to the Israeli military by UCSD and USC shows the need for universities to be more transparent.
The investigation first began when student journalists at the University of Southern California (USC) found that the university had sold the donors’ bodies to the Navy, which then sold the cadavers to the Israeli military (KPBS).
The discovery of these deals have sparked distrust and allegations of “breach of trust” from grieving families who were unaware of the purpose behind the bodies they donated (Daily Sabah).
“I was devastated to see that such a vulnerable situation was taken advantage of,” said Brittany Beecher, sister of Jamie Beecher, whose body was donated to UCSD. “I wouldn’t have agreed” (Daily Sabah).
Like many families affected by this deal, I am shocked and disappointed by the work done in the dark by these two universities. As someone attending UCSD in the fall, I want to feel proud of the school I’m going to– not ashamed.
APB Senior attending UC San Diego in the fall, Kimberly Escobar, shares, “You’re over here thinking your loved ones are being used for medical research. Also it’s just wrong, being like ‘Oh we’re gonna use it for this’, but ending up using it for something completely different.”
UCSD’s body donation program website reads: “Your donation will play a critical role in helping medical students to master the complex anatomy of the human body and will provide researchers with the essential tools to help our patients of tomorrow” (USC Annenberg Media).
Obviously, the program website inaccurately describes the use of the donated bodies, something I believe should change to be more clear for families so this mistake doesn’t happen again.
Madelyn Ruiz, another senior attending UCSD in the fall, explains, “It makes me sad because those bodies belong to families– they probably won’t be able to get those bodies back. I feel like maybe putting out a statement or apology and telling [families] the truth would help in avoiding this issue in the future.”
UC Executive Director of Anatomical Services Brandi Schmitt emphasizes that the UC system prioritizes transparency to disclose all possible uses of a donation (Daily Cal). However, I find this to not be true because the UCSD contract does not specifically mention possible use by healthcare professionals in a foreign country.
UCSD has not responded to the claims brought out by the student investigation, but I hope they acknowledge the issue and take responsibility. It’s important for organizations to be fully transparent with families and donors, especially with something as sensitive as body donations.