Harvard University is once again in the courtroom spotlight, this time over shocking allegations that body parts donated to its medical school were mishandled and sold on the black market. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that families may pursue lawsuits against the university, overturning a lower court’s dismissal.
The controversy centers on Cedric Lodge, the former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School, who pleaded guilty in May to transporting stolen human remains across state lines. Prosecutors say Lodge’s illicit operation began in 2018, moving cadaver parts—including heads, brains, skin, and organs—from Harvard’s Boston morgue to his home in New Hampshire, where he and his wife sold them.
In a unanimous opinion, Justice Scott Kafker described the plaintiffs’ claims as sufficient to show that Harvard may have failed in its duty to handle donated bodies with dignity. “It had a legal obligation to provide for the dignified treatment and disposal of the donated human remains, and failed miserably in this regard,” Kafker wrote, calling Lodge’s actions “horrific.”
The court also revived claims against the managing director of Harvard’s anatomical gift program. Harvard Medical School released a statement condemning Lodge’s actions as “abhorrent and inconsistent with the standards and values that Harvard, our anatomical donors, and their loved ones expect and deserve.”
Families of 47 donors, across 12 lawsuits, allege the university ignored warning signs of Lodge’s misconduct for years, only taking action after his indictment in 2023. While a lower court previously shielded Harvard under the state’s Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, the Supreme Judicial Court concluded the lawsuits raise serious questions about the university’s compliance and oversight, including its failure to prevent the theft and sale of cadaver parts.
Lawyers representing the families said the ruling vindicates their clients’ right to answers about the long-running mishandling of bodies on Harvard’s property.
