Corpses are Prized for Profits
Corpses are Prized for Profits
OVERVIEW: The business of recycling dead humans into medical implants has flourished. But its practices have roused concerns about how tissues are obtained and how well grieving families and transplant patients are informed about the realities and risks.
Five Charged Over Alleged Body Parts Theft
Parts from fifty-six human corpses were improperly fed into the international tissue market from a state-run Ukrainian morgue, according to prosecutors who have filed criminal charges against five of the morgue’s employees.
FDA Warns Against Tainted Human Body Parts
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration threatens recall after bacteria and contaminants were found in human tissue products made by a top supplier to hospitals in the U.S. and around the world.
Medical Journal Warns on Human Tissue Trade
The Lancet warns about the dangers of “profiteering” in the $1 billion international trade on human tissue and the lack of sufficient regulation worldwide – echoing the findings of ICIJ's investigation.
Ukraine Morgue Official Charged
IMPACT: Ukrainian authorities will press charges against a morgue official who is alleged to have illegally recovered human tissue from a corpse intended for the international market.
RTI Biologics Suspends Import of Human Tissue from Ukraine
One of the biggest players in the global trade in human tissue has suspended its partnership with suppliers in Ukraine, where authorities have carried out multiple investigations over allegations of illegal tissue recovery.
Pentagon, Congress Probe Tissue Contracts
The Pentagon announces a new program to better oversee human cadaver tissue used in Defense Department hospitals, as Congressional investigators look into contracts with RTI Biologics, a Florida-based manufacturer of medical implants made from human bones, skin, ligaments and other tissues, following ICIJ's investigation.
WHO Plans Coding System to Track Trade in Human Tissue
The World Health Organization plans to create a coding system to track human tissue traded for transplants and ingredients in drugs to secure safety and prevent illegal collection, a source told The Asahi Shimbun.
Part four
Abusing the 'Gift' of Tissue Donation
PART FOUR: In the brave new world of tissue harvesting, the dead’s bones, skin, tendons and heart valves can be cut out and used to create medical devices that can be sold for profit around the world.
Part three
Traceability Elusive in Global Trade of Human Parts
PART THREE: Poor accountability and inadequate safeguards prompt concerns among medical experts that products made from tissues taken from the dead could spread disease to the living.
Part two
Body Brokers Leave Trail of Questions, Corruption
PART TWO: Police in Hungary, Ukraine and the U.S. allege that tissue suppliers stole tissue and committed fraud and forgery in the drive to supply the industry with flesh and bone.
Key Questions About Human Tissue
What if I want to donate organs but not tissue? Am I saving lives if I donate my tissue? Should I be concerned about safety if I receive a product manufactured from human tissue?
Methodology: Behind the Numbers
ICIJ used four databases provided by the Food and Drug Administration in its analysis of the tissue banking industry. Those databases include the Human Cell and Tissue Establishment Registration, the Operational and Administrative System for Import Support (OASIS), and data sets on tissue bank inspections and deviations. We also analyzed membership of the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB).
Los cadáveres humanos son el botín en una búsqueda global de ganancias
La industria ha florecido aun cuando sus prácticas han despertado preocupación sobre cómo obtiene los tejidos y qué tan bien informadas están las familias y los pacientes de trasplantes sobre las realidades y riesgos del negocio.