Cadaver Dealer Accused of Selling Diseased Body Parts
It may fascinate people to realize that there is such a thing as legal cadaver dealing here in the U.S. Medical and dental students, medical researchers, scientists, forensic anthropologists and a wide array of other professionals, all make use of human bodies to further knowledge and studies in their respective fields. And it’s all completely legal.
But what keeps it within the law is a set of strict protocols that protect the rights of the person whose body is being used, and the health of the professionals who are using it. Which is why Arthur Rathburn, the Detroit businessman and cadaver dealer, is currently in so much trouble.
According to a recently released Grand Jury Indictment, Rathburn and his wife, Elizabeth, are accused of obtaining diseased and contagious body parts at a reduced price, which they then rented out to medical researchers and dental students without disclosing the means of death, or the infections and diseases carried by those bodies. They are also alleged to have obtained some of the bodies illegally, selling parts from bodies without the consent of the family or next-of-kin.
The Rathburns are said to have rented body parts from people who died of sepsis, or those who were known to have Hepatitis or HIV, all the while pretending that the body parts were clean and disease free. They are also said to have done this for the sole purpose of increasing their profit margin, as diseased and infectious body parts can be obtained at a much cheaper rate.
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, in announcing the indictment, said that the Rathburns had not only defrauded their customers, but exposed a great many people to harmful diseases as well. Additionally, the indictment claims that Rathburn used chainsaws to cut up the body parts he rented out, instead of using the more sanitary, industry-standard methods of dissection. He is also accused of not following cross-contamination procedures, which increases health risks and disease exposure for others handling the body parts.
Prior to his alleged involvement in illegal cadaver dealing, Arthur Rathburn had a somewhat celebrated career that included patents on trade tools he designed at U of M’s medical School. He also published a journal on embalming techniques which was considered to be a reputable piece of work, and lectured around the country on anatomy.
But Rathburn’s business has been under the scrutiny of the FBI for several years now. Two years ago an FBI raid conducted on his Detroit warehouse revealed over a thousand body parts. Since then, raids have been conducted on a number of other cadaver dealers, and several cadaver businesses have since been shut down.
The Rathburns have been arrested and are currently being held in jail, pending their next scheduled appearance in federal court.