UC San Diego Probe : Bones Diverted From Cadavers, Court Told

Former employees of the UC San Diego Medical Center Skin Bank illegally diverted bones from cadavers at the center to their own competing body tissue bank while still employed at UCSD, according to allegations made in court documents.

The diversion of bones occurred over six months, according to UC police investigators in papers filed recently in support of search warrants.

A decision on whether to prosecute those involved is pending, Alan Preckel, the San Diego County deputy district attorney handling the case, said Thursday. According to affidavits filed in the case, unlawful removal of human remains is a felony under state law.

The investigation at the University of California, San Diego, involves events that have focused attention on a little-discussed aspect of medicine in San Diego and elsewhere: the method of procuring organs and tissues for transplant and medical research, and the potential competition for such parts.

Regional Donation Agency

For several years, the center has operated a regional donation agency that coordinates donations from all area hospitals and referral centers to proper recipients and research facilities.

According to court documents and interviews with investigators, the case revolves around an alleged plan by two former workers to set up a private tissue bank to harvest bone for another, competing tissue bank.

One worker, Leroy McIntyre, was the tissue bank coordinator at the UCSD Skin Bank from 1976 to 1985. The second, Michael Sullivan, worked as a skin technician from 1984 to 1985. They allegedly decided to form a private tissue bank in January, 1985, while both were employed at UCSD, according to a statement by UC Police Detective Robert L. Jones.

Attorney James Gattey, representing McIntyre and Sullivan, said the affidavits are hearsay and should not be taken as fact until after charges are filed and proven in court.