PITTSBURGH — The University of Pittsburgh will examine how it manages donated human tissue following abuse-of-corpse charges against two students.
Authorities this month charged Amay Gupta, 19, of Fremont, California, and Sonel S. Jimenez, 19, of Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, with one misdemeanor count apiece. Pitt police allege the students mistreated a cadaver Nov. 4 in an anatomy lab class in Victoria Hall.
Witnesses observed Gupta making sexual remarks about a male corpse and placing a hand inside its chest, while Jimenez was seen inappropriately touching a female corpse, smirking and commenting, according to complaints against the students. Both told Pitt police they had learned in class about treating cadavers with respect, a detective wrote.
Their preliminary hearings are set for next month.
In the meantime, a Pitt spokesperson told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the university is moving to assess internal operations. The university receives about 80 cadavers a year from Pennsylvania’s nonprofit Human Gifts Registry for educational purposes.
“While incidents of misconduct by individuals are extremely rare, the university has robust oversight in place to ensure that any allegation of misuse or mistreatment of donated tissue is swiftly investigated and addressed, as is happening in this case,” the university said in a statement. “As part of that process, the appropriate offices and leaders will review all processes and protocols to determine if there are opportunities to strengthen or improve them.”
Pitt has a dedicated office “to ensure these generous gifts are treated with the utmost care and respect, and to support” investigations into suspected violations, the university said. It could not comment on individual cases, but actions alleged in the Gupta and Sonel cases “are in direct contrast to our values and deep respect for the gift made by the decedent and their loved ones,” it said.
The university notified its offices of student conduct; civil rights; and compliance, investigations and ethics, according to Pitt. Student witnesses received information about available resources, including counseling services and programs under federal Title IX, a civil rights law.
Apart from an incident in the early 1980s involving cadaver mistreatment, university officials said they knew of no similar allegations at Pitt.
The Philadelphia-based Human Gifts Registry referred a Post-Gazette inquiry to its board president, who could not be reached, and an attorney for Gupta declined comment. A lawyer for Jimenez asked the public to withhold judgment until the criminal proceedings wrap up.
“In criminal cases, what police and prosecutors alleged happened, and what really happened, are often two different things,” attorney Joseph D. Lento said in a statement. It appeared authorities were “trying to convict Mr. Jimenez in the court of public opinion” before his day in court, he said.
Such cases can discourage would-be donors from committing their bodies to medical education upon death, said Dr. John Pippin, a cardiologist who directs academic affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit. Researchers believe fewer than 20,000 Americans a year donate their bodies for medical education and training, according to National Geographic.
Pippin is among them, having pledged his body to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center “for whatever use they want.” He worked on a donor body in medical school 45 years ago, he said, pressing the importance of donation programs.
“If you think about it, you can’t duplicate this,” Pippin said. “There is not another way to put your finger on the human medical condition and diseases if you can’t look at humans.”
Those lessons prepare clinicians for medical practice and leave a lasting imprint, he added. He hopes people will see beyond the rare criminal case in Pittsburgh — and the widespread news coverage they generated — to see the bigger picture of body donation, he said.
“It’s a noble thing, and we should not let go of that,” Pippin said.
———
