A body broker (also non-transplant tissue banks) is a firm or an individual that buys and sells

cadaver A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stud ...

s or

human body The human body is the structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the life, viabi ...

parts. Whereas the market for

organ transplantation Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ (anatomy), organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organ ...

is heavily regulated in the United States, the use of cadaver parts for research, training, and other uses is not. Trade in these body parts is performed in a manner akin to

raw material A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials that are feedstock for future finished products. As feedst ...

s, though many brokers say they charge fees as opposed to selling body parts.In the U.S. market for human bodies, almost anyone can dissect and sell the dead
Reuters, Brian Grow and John Shiffman, 25 October 2017 Whereas

body snatching Body snatching is the illicit removal of corpses from graves, morgues, and other burial sites. Body snatching is distinct from the act of grave robbery as grave robbing does not explicitly involve the removal of the corpse, but rather theft from ...

was a common way of acquiring bodies for research up until the 20th century, modern body brokers usually receive cadavers via body donation. Body brokers often offer free

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...

as a means to induce donation from families who are unable to pay

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

costs, returning ashes of part of the body to the next of kin.A Reuters journalist bought human body parts, then learned a donor's heart-wrenching story
Reuters, Brian Grow and John Shiffman, 25 October 2017 In some cases body brokers obtain bodies

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

ulently by stating use of the donation for research, subsequently reselling the body for profit. Body brokers also obtain cadavers and body parts from institutions who receive donations and have a surplus. In some cases, this is done illegally against the donor's wishes or by employees who act independently of the institution. In 2004, the UCLA Willed Body Program was suspended for a year after a scheme for the sale of body parts for profit involving its director at the time

Henry Reid Henry Reid is the former director of UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then kno ...

and body broker named Ernest Nelson was uncovered. The scheme yielded some 1.5 million dollars in profits. Reid and Nelson were subsequently convicted for theft and related tax offenses and were sentenced to 4 and 10 years respectively.Guilty plea in cadaver scheme at UCLA
LA Times, Victoria Kim, October 18, 2008

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite book , title= Body Brokers: Inside America's Underground Trade in Human Remains, url= https://archive.org/details/bodybrokersinsid00chen, url-access= registration, last=Cheney, first=Annie, isbn=978-0767917346, publisher=Broadway Book, year=2007 Medical donations Medical aspects of death Businesspeople in the health care industry