A new phenomenon has arisen over the last two decades in the US, and this is the emergence of private willed body donation companies (body brokers). These private companies are generally based on a for-profit business model and advertise their services in funeral homes, hospices, nursing facilities and news-papers. Once these companies accept the bodies, they are dismembered and shipped to national and international clients for research of education purposes, or for use by the army. There is little regulator of ethical guidance regarding how these companies operate. The extent of this highly lucrative industry was brought to light recently by a series of investigations by Reuters.

In this talk I shall highlight the ethical issues at stake, and the way in which they apply to the donors and their families, the donation programs (based on the commercialisation of body parts), and the societies where the purchased body parts are utilised.

Presenter: Emeritus Professor Gareth Jones University of Otago, Anatomy