Harvard University has agreed to a $53 million settlement to resolve lawsuits brought by families who donated the remains of their loved ones to Harvard Medical School for scientific research and alleged that the university failed to properly safeguard the bodies.
The cases stem from a scandal involving former Harvard Medical School morgue manager Cedric Lodge, who admitted to stealing human remains entrusted to the university and selling them on the black market.
According to prosecutors, Lodge used his position as manager of Harvard Medical School's Anatomical Gift Program to take parts from cadavers donated for medical research.
Between 2018 and 2021, Lodge sold human remains to buyers online, prosecutors said. According to the indictment, Lodge and his wife shipped body parts to buyers in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Harvard uses donated bodies to teach medical students human anatomy and allow them to practice medical procedures. Once educational and research activities are completed, the remains are generally cremated and either returned to the families or buried in the university's medical cemetery.
Lodge and six other people who had no affiliation with Harvard were charged in connection with the scheme. All of the defendants pleaded guilty in 2025.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Lodge was sentenced in December to eight years in prison. His wife was sentenced to one year and one day.
After the scandal became public in 2023, numerous families filed civil lawsuits against Harvard. The plaintiffs argued that the university failed to detect Lodge's activities, which continued for years, and did not fulfill its responsibility to protect donated human remains.
The families' lawsuits were initially dismissed by a state court. But the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last fall cleared the way for the cases to proceed.
On Monday, Harvard and the plaintiffs jointly asked the court to approve a $53 million class-action settlement.
If approved, the agreement will establish compensation funds worth millions of dollars for the affected families.
In a statement signed by Harvard Medical School Dean George Daley and Dean for Medical Education Bernard Chang, the university strongly condemned Lodge's actions.
“Lodge's criminal actions were morally unacceptable and completely contrary to the standards Harvard University and Harvard Medical School expect in the treatment of anatomical donors and their families,” the statement said.
Harvard also said it will establish a new scholarship program for medical students beginning in the 2027-28 academic year.
The annual financial awards will be created in memory of people who donated their bodies to medical education and science, the university said.
