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The FBI is investigating whether bodies from
Portland-area funeral homes have been improperly obtained and used for medical
research.
Documents
obtained by WW show a federal grand jury in May subpoenaed records from Legacy Health,
a major Oregon health care provider. Whistleblowers have alleged that Legacy
Research Institute's body-donation program may have accepted cadavers for
research from a local funeral home without keeping proper medical records,
according to interviews and records obtained by WW.
The
FBI is also investigating questions about whether Legacy or the company it uses to secure cadavers for medical research,
Portland-based Crown Memorial Centers, obtained the bodies legally or if it
informed families that their loved ones' remains had been donated to science.
Legacy
officials acknowledge they have received a subpoena for documents but say they
believe the health-care provider is not the target of the investigation.
A
May 8 federal subpoena obtained by WW shows the FBI demanded that Legacy hand over "complete donor files to include death
certificates, serology reports, medical and social histories, procurement
information for harvested tissues, organs, or body parts, and body or body part
use and distribution information."
Legacy Research Institute, located in the
Lloyd District, uses cadavers to train doctors for surgery.
"We
also use cadavers to research techniques and tools that are used to save lives
in cases of severe injury," Legacy Health says in a frequently-asked
questions page on its website. "Countless people live better lives because
of the work we do and through the donations to the program."
The
subpoena also required Legacy to produce all correspondence with Crown Memorial
Centers, which operates funeral homes in Portland and Tualatin, and contact
information for the families of all body donors.
According
to sources, the federal investigation began after Legacy employees raised
questions about whether the body donation program was conducting proper
screenings on the cadavers for blood-borne diseases including HIV.
They
say employees also questioned whether next-of-kin had given consent for the
bodies to be used.
The
FBI has been investigating body- and tissue-donation centers in Arizona and
Michigan.
A Legacy spokesman tells WW the
health-care provider can't comment on the details of the case. But he says
Legacy does not expect the FBI to file charges against it.
"It's
not uncommon for us to get contacted by state and federal regulatory
agencies," says Legacy spokesman Brian Terrett. "What I can tell you
is that there's no federal or state law enforcement agency that is
investigating Legacy. We're fully cooperating, and we haven't been led to
believe we're the subject of this investigation."
Randy
Tjaden, who owns Cascade Decedent Care and Crown Memorial Centers, says an FBI
agent conducted interviews in Portland last week.
Tjaden
says his Cascade is only a facilitator for Legacy's body donation program. He
said his company has also received a subpoena but doesn't expect the FBI to
charge his company.
"As
far as I know, everything is just fine," Tjaden says of his meeting with
an FBI agent. "He didn't say anything to me like, 'Stop doing this.'"
WWeek 2015