By persuading my best friend not to watch the ACC championship, I am absolutely certain that I prevented his horrible luck from costing Maryland the title. Although I will probably never receive the credit that I rightfully deserve for my alma mater's victory, the feeling of pride I received in watching them win the championship was more than satisfactory.
The point is not just that I am some superstitious, lunatic sports fanatic; rather, it is that everything your school does affects you throughout life, even long after you graduate. Accordingly, when a university is in the news for less reputable events, such as the recent cadaver fiasco at the UCLA School of Medicine, it reflects poorly on everyone affiliated with the school.
Selling cadavers for a profit seems like an evil scheme out of a Robin Cook novel, not something that happens at a prominent medical school. But a few weeks ago, Henry Reid, director of UCLA's willed-body program, and Ernest Nelson, who was not affiliated with UCLA, were arrested for just that, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Reid allegedly sold parts of cadavers stored for the medical school to Nelson. Nelson would then sell the parts to biotechnology companies for his own profit, at triple the cost. He was really making a killing! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
Reid and Nelson were making a personal profit by selling cadavers that they were not entitled to take. According to California law, the sale of cadaver parts is illegal if it is done for profit. With a list of more than 11,000 bodies, there are many more cadavers than are needed for medical school uses, and as such, many of these are used for scientific experiments with the consent of the donor and the family. Because of the excess of cadavers, the University of California would routinely and legally sell the bodies for research at cost.
It was this unhealthy combination of greed and stupidity that did Nelson and Reid in.
When Nelson sued the University for $241,000 in damages because of body parts that were returned to him from the biotechnology companies he sold them to, Nelson brought attention to the illegal activities that were slipping under the radar of the administration.
Apparently, the brand new mink coats, jewelry and Bentley that Reid was bringing to work were not flashy enough to draw undue attention. But in all seriousness, a few days after the letter was received by the President of the university, the investigation was launched, and computers, documents and disks were confiscated from both Reid and Nelson. Both are currently free on bail with a trial date in early May.
This was not the first problem that the willed-body program at the University of California has had. Currently, there is a class action suit against the university for disposing of cadavers without "dignity." In 1993, it was discovered that cadaver ashes were being disposed of by being mixed with used medical supplies, which prompted an investigation and a subsequent trial.
Other schools have had problems with illegal use of cadavers as well.
Two previous cases involving the illegal sale of cadavers cost employees at the University of California Irvine and at the University of Texas their jobs in 1999 and 2002, respectively. Also, it was recently discovered that individuals at Tulane University distributed seven bodies to the Army for explosives research.
It is a shame that the donors that were so altruistic as to give up their bodies for science and the betterment of mankind are treated with such disrespect. I cannot speak for the families of those people who donated their bodies, but I can understand that broken trust would cause them to feel slighted and used.
Speaking as a student, it is difficult to overemphasize the importance of cadavers to my medical education. They are used as tools to teach basic anatomy, to understand novel surgical procedures and to test tissue responsiveness.
To UCLA's credit, they have been investigating the actions of these individuals and ways in which they can ensure nothing of this sort will happen again. Administrators also have set up a toll free number for donors' families and future donors to call to express their feelings, concerns and criticisms.
By stealing from UCLA, Reid and Nelson not only hurt the school's reputation, but they also ended up facing time in prison and looking like grave-robbers.
Omid Fatemi is a biweekly columnist. He can be reached at ofatemi@cavalierdaily.com
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