Report on Harvard's morgue finds lack of oversight and no policy on handling of human bodies

Outside experts appointed to review Harvard Medical School's morgue operations in the wake of allegations that body parts were stolen and sold found the school lacked formal policies and had little oversight of the morgue's day-to-day workings.

The long-awaited report, prepared by a three-member panel, makes numerous recommendations for improvement, from better training and monitoring of staff to ramping up communications with donors, their families and the public.

The review also says there should be rigorous background checks and ethics training for morgue workers, and cites physical overhauls needed at the site.

"Given privacy considerations and the preciousness of the donor resources, the Panel recommends that staff receive routine training in ethical values and conduct and acknowledge their understanding of these responsibilities both at hire and annually thereafter," the authors wrote.

To improve security, the report recommended installing cameras at the facility and tasking a specific person with keys to the morgue and the anatomy laboratory.

In June, federal authorities arrested Cedric Lodge, 55, the morgue's manager for roughly three decades, accusing him of stealing and selling body parts of deceased donors over several years. Lodge has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and transport of stolen goods.

In a letter posted Thursday to Harvard's website, Provost Alan M. Garber and George Q. Daley, dean of the faculty of medicine, called Lodge's criminal acts "morally reprehensible and inconsistent with the standards that Harvard University." But they did not take responsibility or blame for the thefts.

The letter says Harvard has now appointed a task force "to review the panel’s recommendations and to develop an implementation plan in an expedient and thoughtful manner."

Harvard last month filed a motion to dismiss a slew of lawsuits brought by families who fear their loved ones' bodies were mishandled by the school's former morgue manager.

The school has been temporarily directing body donors to the Tufts University School of Medicine.