Today, many people donate their bodies as cadavers for use in scientific research or medical education. These people’s bodies are used as models after death, without burial or other preferred post-mortem procedures. That is, they only have their consent, unless they state otherwise before they die.
However, a cadaver donation recently made in the USA has gone beyond this consent framework, revealing an unethical use. The body of a 98-year-old veteran who donated his body for use in medicine was used in a show.
Tickets sold for $500
Elsie Saunders, who lives in the US state of Louisiana, was shocked to learn what the body of her husband, who donated her body as a cadaver, was used for. David Saunders donated his body for use in the medical sciences. However, instead of being sent to the relevant faculties, his body was used in an unethical demonstration held in a hotel. David Saunders was a Korean and World War II veteran who died at the age of 98. His wife, Elsie Saunders, stated that this donation was his last patriotic act.
David Saunders’ cadaver body, ‘Oddities and Curiosities Expo’ held at the Marriott Hotel; in other words, it was transferred to the Fair of Strangeness and Curiosities. During the 7-hour event on October 17, the body was carefully and slowly dissected by the audience. Event tickets were sold for $500.
The veteran’s wife, Elsie Saunders, says she has documents showing that the sole purpose of the donation was medical education and research. On the other hand, officials involved in the incident say that the body was not accepted into universities due to the coronavirus. Saunders expects the remains of his wife’s body to be returned to him. A company called Church Funeral Services and Crematory will cremate David Saunders’ body for free in the crematorium and deliver the ashes to his wife.
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