Tarrant County in Texas has changed its policy regarding unclaimed bodies following an NBC News investigation revealing the University of North Texas Health Science Center was cutting up and leasing out the remains of hundreds of people without consent. The new policy requires the county to make every effort to contact relatives before cremating or burying unclaimed bodies. This comes after officials realized they could no longer rely on the Health Science Center to handle the remains. The revamped rules aim to ensure ethical treatment of deceased individuals by involving different agencies in locating family members before the bodies are declared unclaimed. The policy gives preference to cremation, but allows for burial in specific cases. The changes were prompted by bioethicist Eli Shupe, who advocated against providing unclaimed bodies to the Health Science Center without consent. The Health Science Center had received thousands of unclaimed bodies from Tarrant and Dallas counties in the past five years, leasing some of them out for various purposes. Families like that of Dale Leggett, whose body was given to the Health Science Center without consent, have been left in the dark until news articles revealed what had happened. The new policy in Tarrant County aims to prevent similar situations in the future and ensure that families are informed and involved in the handling of their deceased loved ones.
Photo credit
www.nbcnews.com
Policy implemented in Texas county to ensure unclaimed bodies receive dignified treatment
