Harvard settles for $53M over donated-bodies scandal and black-market sales

Harvard University will pay $53 million to settle a class-action by families whose loved ones’ bodies donated to Harvard Medical School were allegedly mishandled and some parts sold on the black market. The case centers on the 2023 arrest and eight-year prison sentence of Cedric Lodge, Harvard’s former morgue manager, who prosecutors say stole and sold donated body parts. Harvard faces claims of negligence that were revived by Massachusetts’ high court, and the university will also establish an annual scholarship for donors’ families and host a webinar to acknowledge the acts as morally reprehensible.