Following a national news investigation into Tarrant County’s donation of unclaimed bodies to university programs, the county has established new policies for how unclaimed bodies are handled and families are notified.
On October 15, Commissioners Tarrant voted unanimously to approve the “Disposal of Dead Paupers” policy. Texas law requires each county commissioners court to care for the bodies of people who cannot afford funeral arrangements.
The new policy will be announced almost a month after the commission voted unanimously to end the program Donate unclaimed bodies and the destitute remains of residents to the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth.
health science center Announcement of cancellation of Willed Body program The program leader was fired on September 13th. Month-long investigation by NBC News. The investigation found that county and Health Sciences Center officials failed to properly communicate with the family before declaring the body unclaimed and using it for medical research and training.
NBC identified 12 cases in which families learned weeks, months, or even years later that a relative’s body had been donated to UNT Health Sciences Center.
County Judge Tim O’Hare and Second Precinct Chief Alisa Simmons thanked county staff for their efforts in developing the new policy. Fourth Precinct Chief Manny Ramirez was absent from the meeting.
“I appreciate your work on this policy. Thank you for reaching out to the experts I suggested. I hope I can help. This policy looks good for all of them,” Simmons said.
The new five-page policy states that if a detailed assessment shows that a person does not have the means to pay the costs of disposing of their property, the next of kin is unwilling or unable to pay. If found, the body will be considered unclaimed. If the identity is unknown or the next of kin is unable to secure funeral arrangements with a funeral director after providing at least three quotes.
Unclaimed bodies will be cremated unless their identity is unknown. Cremation is expressly prohibited by the person’s will. A written appeal must be submitted by the next of kin within 10 days of the death. or the person is an honorably discharged veteran.
If an exception applies, unclaimed bodies will receive county burial, which includes transport to the funeral home and cemetery, refrigeration, coffin, grave opener, interment, and grave closure. County burials do not include a wake, funeral service, floral tribute, or transportation for an officiant or next of kin.
Tarrant County estimates the new policy will cost $675,000. The county will request additional funding as needed.
County human services departments are currently responsible for providing social services and financial assistance to individuals and families and will carry out the tasks outlined in the policy.
Under no circumstances will a county cremation or burial be performed within 11 days of the date of death and without prior written permission from the department, according to the policy.
“All procedures regarding the final arrangements for the remains of the indigent shall be conducted with the utmost solemnity and respect for the deceased and his next of kin,” Tarrant County officials wrote.
Prior to the county’s agreement with the Health Sciences Center, the county was responsible for disposing of unclaimed bodies. Tarrant County previously spent about $500,000 a year on burials and cremations.
From 2019 to 2024, the Health Sciences Center will be responsible for transporting bodies, submitting death certificates, notifying Social Security, and ultimately cremating bodies, whether or not they are used for medical research. He said he accepted the offer. April 2022 Fort Worth Report Article About university cadaver programs.
Health Sciences Center Director Sylvia Trent Adams said in a Sept. 16 email to faculty, staff, and students that after the Wild Bodies program began working with local counties as permitted by state law, “the program “We experienced a huge influx of bodies,” he said. The university earned about $2.5 million annually from outside parties through the program.
“This growth has exceeded management capacity and has led to significant oversight issues,” Trent Adams wrote. “We are working to refocus the original educational purpose of our programs and ensure that unclaimed remains are still not used in our programs.”
The university program first gained attention in 2021 when Eli Shoop, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, published a paper. Dallas Morning News Column It questions the ethics of examining the bodies of unclaimed poor people without their consent.
In September, after the NBC News report, O’Hare said that no human body should be used in medical research without prior consent or the consent of loved ones.
“And certainly no person’s body should be sold for profit without their consent in any way,” O’Hare said.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Oct. 15 at 3:30 p.m. to clarify the estimated costs of the new unclaimed remains policy.
Reporter Shomial Ahmad contributed to this report.
David Moreno is a health reporter for The Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Please contact [email protected] or @davidmreports.
At The Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independent of board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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