Harvard to pay $53 million after human remains donated to its medical school were stolen and sold

Harvard University has agreed to pay $53 million to settle civil lawsuits brought by families whose relatives donated their bodies to Harvard Medical School for research and education, after parts of those donated remains were stolen and sold in a nationwide black-market scheme. The scandal centred on Cedric Lodge, a former manager of Harvard Medical School's morgue, who prosecutors said stole organs, skin, brains and dissected heads from donated cadavers. Lodge transported some of the remains to his home in New Hampshire and sold them to buyers in other states, with some later resold for profit. He pleaded guilty to trafficking stolen human remains and was sentenced to eight years in prison in December 2025. His wife, Denise Lodge, was also sentenced to prison for her role in the scheme.How the Harvard human remains scandal unfoldedLodge had access to cadavers donated through Harvard's Anatomical Gift Program, which provides bodies for medical education and research. Prosecutors said he exploited that access by removing parts of bodies without the knowledge or consent of the university, donors or their families. The conduct covered by his guilty plea occurred from 2018 through at ...