Fort Worth university suspends unclaimed bodies program. Will Tarrant County cut ties?

by David Moreno and Shomial Ahmad

September 16, 2024 5:19 pm

Tarrant County will consider terminating its contract to donate unclaimed bodies of residents to the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth following a national NBC News investigation. 

The 10-month investigation found UNT Health Science Center — through its Willed Body Program — repeatedly failed to contact reachable family members before declaring a body unclaimed and using it for medical research. Since 2018, Tarrant County has provided the Health Science Center with dead bodies considered “indigent and unclaimed minor children or adult descendants” in order to save money on burials and cremation. 

After journalists shared their findings with UNT Health Science Center officials, the university terminated program leadership and suspended operations pending a review by an outside firm, according to a Sept. 13 statement on the university’s website. 

“The intent of the program is to educate future physicians, scientists and other health professionals and improve the quality of health for families and future generations,” the Health Science Center said in a statement. “We are committed to operating all programs with transparency, integrity and the highest ethical standards, and we are dedicated to maintaining trust in our institution.”

Dallas and Tarrant counties have sent more than 2,000 unclaimed bodies to the Health Science Center since 2019, and more than 800 were used for dissection and study, according to the NBC investigation. The supply of unclaimed bodies earned the university about $2.5 million per year from outside groups, according to NBC News’ analysis of university financial records.

Tarrant commissioners are set to vote on terminating their contract with the university Sept. 17. The county will also explore alternative options for the disposition of unclaimed bodies at a future meeting, the agenda states. Dallas County is also considering legal advice around the disposition of dead bodies at its Sept. 17 meeting.

Texas law requires each county commissioners court to care for the bodies of people who can’t afford funeral arrangements. The university deferred to its Sept. 13 statement when asked about the upcoming county actions. 

In a Sept. 6 statement to NBC News, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said that the matter is “deeply concerning.” He has met with the UNT chancellor, county staff and the Tarrant County Medical Examiner regarding the issue. He is also considering legal options to end the “immoral, unethical, and irresponsible practices” stemming from the program.

“It is imperative that every effort is made to notify the family of a deceased individual of the loss of their loved one,” O’Hare said in the statement. “The idea that families may be unaware that their loved ones’ remains are being used for research without consent is disturbing, to say the least.” 

NBC identified 12 cases in which families learned weeks, months or years after the fact that a relative’s body had been provided to UNT Health Science Center. Five families found out what happened from NBC News.

UNT Health Science Center previously told the Report an “unclaimed” body refers to a person whose families couldn’t afford or chose not to provide funeral services, or those whose next of kin couldn’t be found. The program used donated dead bodies, including those labeled “unclaimed,” for medical research and training. 

In October 2018, Tarrant County commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the contract with the Health Science Center. Andy Nguyen, then the Precinct 2 commissioner, supported the motion, but asked the university to give families ample time to identify a relative who has died and ensure bodies were treated with “respect and dignity.”

“I felt like, when those people passed away, they did not have anyone to speak on their behalf,” Nguyen, who now serves as O’Hare’s chief of staff, told the Report in 2022. 

Tarrant County’s contract with the Health Science Center is renewed on an annual basis. The 2024 agreement was approved Jan. 9. Both the county or the Health Science Center can terminate the contract with 30 days written notice to the other party.

When asked about the suspension of the Willed Body Program, Nguyen declined to comment and deferred to O’Hare. 

Before contracting with the Health Science Center, Tarrant County offered burials or cremations at no cost to the person’s family, the director of the county’s human services department previously told the Report. Expenses related to unclaimed bodies previously cost the county roughly half a million each year.

Eli Shupe, an assistant professor of bioethics at the University of Texas at Arlington, began advocating against the use of unclaimed bodies in research in 2021, when she published a column in the Dallas Morning News critiquing Tarrant County’s program.

In 2022, she told the Report that the program raised ethical questions about consent and whether it matters after death. 

After hearing about UNT Health Science Center’s decision to suspend the program, Shupe said she felt a sense of relief and believes “this is a new start for Texas moving forward.” 

“I’ve been working on this issue since 2021, and at points I felt like I was screaming at a brick wall,” she said. “Failing to do due diligence in locating relatives and profiting off these bodies in a way that’s exploitative is wrong.” 

Shupe hopes UNT Health Science Center moves forward with a consent-based model of donation that requires “explicit consent” from a person’s next of kin. 

“It’s a moral minimum,” she said. 

State lawmakers and government leaders should also push against allowing any medical institutions from using or receiving any unclaimed bodies for research, Shupe added.

Shupe told the Report in 2022 that she didn’t want to solely offer criticism to the Willed Body Program, so she signed up to donate her body to the Health Science Center one day. 

Two years later, Shupe said she feels conflicted after learning about the university’s practices, but it’s “ultimately a decision I would stand by.” 

“It looks like the university is taking all the right steps to address these ethical issues,” she said. “They’re conducting an investigation. They’ve terminated leadership. There’s an opportunity for (UNT Health Science Center) to set a standard in some ways.” 

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify Dr. Rajesh R. Gandhi, who is featured in cadaver photos, no longer serves as a John Peter Smith Hospital trauma surgeon.

This article was originally published by the Fort Worth Report.