For five years, the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth received unclaimed bodies from Dallas and Tarrant counties. These bodies were assessed for medical research, with those testing positive for diseases or decomposing being cremated. The remaining bodies were embalmed or stored in freezers, with some being used to train future medical professionals and others being leased out to various institutions for research purposes.
Using unclaimed bodies for research is legal and has been touted as a cost-effective way to advance medicine while saving taxpayers money on burial costs. However, a recent NBC News investigation revealed that several families were unaware of what had happened to their missing relatives, prompting the Health Science Center to halt the use of unclaimed bodies, fire officials leading the program, and issue apologies to affected families. Nine more families have since come forward, expressing shock and heartbreak at the news that their loved ones’ bodies may have been studied and dissected without consent.
In an effort to aid families in finding answers, NBC News has published a database of over 1,800 people whose bodies were donated to the Health Science Center by Dallas and Tarrant counties since 2019. This information was obtained through open records requests from the county medical examiners.
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