UC Irvine May Stop Returning Body Ashes

UC Irvine may stop returning ashes of bodies donated to the medical school as part of changes intended to prevent problems that led to the suspension of the Willed Body Program this month.

Dr. Peter Lawrence, a top medical school official assigned to revamp the program, said returning ashes creates difficult logistic problems, especially when bodies are kept for years or a part is used separately from the rest of the body.

In addition, there is the issue of closure for families, which is easier to achieve if the option is not offered.

Returning ashes “reopens old wounds that some people don’t want reopened,” he said, noting that it also can force some people “to feel they need to have a memorial service [again].”

Any change in the policy on ashes would not apply retroactively.

The temporary closure of the program came after its director, Christopher S. Brown, was dismissed for allegedly profiting from the sale of body parts.

The medical school anticipates reopening the program in November, Lawrence said. Final decisions on restructuring the program, including new regulations and stricter oversight, are scheduled to be completed by Nov. 1, and will involve a committee of deans and faculty.

Revisions will also include setting strict priorities for who gets access to the approximately 75 bodies donated annually. Some are kept for research and instruction and others are sold to other institutions for similar uses.