Harvard sued after morgue manager sold donated bodies on black market

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that Harvard University can be sued by families whose relatives’ donated bodies were illegally sold on the black market by a former morgue manager.

The court overturned a lower court decision that had previously shielded Harvard from legal action and found the university legally responsible for failing to ensure the “dignified treatment” of donated remains. Chief Justice Scott L. Kafker described the affair as a “macabre scheme” in which the ex-manager, Cedric Lodge, stole and sold human body parts between 2018 and 2023.

Harvard now faces 12 lawsuits from 47 family members alleging negligence and disregard for industry standards.

Lodge, who was fired in 2023, pleaded guilty to interstate transport of stolen human remains after selling organs and body parts—including heads, brains, and skin—to buyers online, some of whom paid via PayPal with memos such as “head number 7” and “braiiiiiins.”

He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while Harvard’s role in the scandal is likely to be further tested in court.

Image credit: Xiangkun Zhu