Texas Medical Center Recalls Untested Body Parts

A medical center whose handling of cadavers has come under FBI investigation said Tuesday that it is recalling body parts sent to research institutions around the country, warning they may carry the AIDS virus or other infections.

The University of Texas Medical Branch said records kept by a former employee are so poor that there is a chance the parts--including feet, knees and elbows--have been used in tissue transplants.

“We deeply regret this has happened. We make no excuses for it,” said Steven Lieberman, associate dean for educational affairs.

The medical center ordered the recall because the unpreserved remains may not have been properly tested for hepatitis and HIV before they were shipped.

The remains are primarily used to train doctors in surgical techniques and are not intended for use in transplants. But the medical center said it could not be sure that ligaments, cartilage and other tissue were not used that way.

The medical center called the risk to public health “negligible and probably zero,” but said it could not guarantee that transplant patients are safe from infection.

It urged researchers who received parts under its Willed Body Program from November 2000 to May 2002 to send the parts back.

For now, a list of the sites that received the body parts won’t be made public because of a federal investigation of the Willed Body Program, the medical center said.

The parts may have been sent to as many as 60 research programs nationwide. The medical center began notifying the institutions this week, and it said researchers should protect themselves when handling the remains.

“With these precautions, the risks go way down,” Lieberman said.

Lieberman said he could not account for how many parts had been shipped out during the 18 months in question. He said the medical center is not legally required to test the parts for infectious diseases, but such testing is expected within the medical community.

The Willed Body Program received about 300 bodies a year that had been left to science.

The Willed Body Program was shut down earlier this year and is already under investigation by the FBI, which is looking into allegations that an employee sold donated remains and that donors’ ashes were mingled.

The employee, Allen Tyler Jr., 56, worked in the program for 36 years before being fired May 9. Tyler has not been charged with a crime. He did not return a message Tuesday.