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Article: Lucrative sales of body parts
- Article from:
- The Beacon News - Aurora (IL)
- Article date:
- March 10, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright (c) 2002 The Beacon News. (Hide copyright information)
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Companies trading in human body parts operate in a largely unregulated and lucrative field where demand for items such as knees and heads dwarfs supply, owners and health experts say.
Each year, parts are removed from thousands of bodies donated to science nationwide and those specimens generate millions of dollars in fees for uses ranging from spinal research to cosmetic surgery, experts say.
Critics say the lack of government oversight creates opportunities for handlers of the dead to remove and sell body parts without the permission of the deceased or their families.
"The sad fact is while we care a lot about the dead, we spend almost no money or time to protect them," said Arthur ...