Some 70 spectators took part in a singular event on October 17 in Portland, United States. Gathered in a large hotel in this Oregon city, they witnessed a live man's autopsy, paying $ 500 ($ 430) each for the occasion. Faced with the controversy, the organizers defend a strictly "educational" initiative.
The body of David Saunders, who died of Covid-19 at the age of 98, was dissected by a retired anatomist. For several hours, Dr. Colin Henderson removed the organs of the deceased, detailing the different stages of this procedure that he performed throughout his career.
Images revealed Wednesday, November 3 by a local television station, King 5, show that some spectators were even asked to don surgical gloves to handle the remains themselves during the demonstration. This was one of the promises mentioned on the event program: “Access to the corpse before, after and during breaks”.
This public autopsy was organized by Death Science. Through this experience, the company, which presents itself as "an independent education platform", intended to offer "a unique look at what is under our skin, in our body and how it all works together".
THE FAMILY WAS NOT AWARE
Asked by King 5, one of the participants, named Monica, assured that "it was very educational" and that "everything was done with respect for the person who gave her body". Problem: the family of David Saunders, the deceased, had not been informed that his remains, bequeathed to science, would be exposed in this kind of paid exhibition. According to the television channel, his relatives believed that it would be used for medical research.
Indication of having obtained the body from the company Med Ed Labs, the founder of Death Science, Jeremy Ciliberto, assures that he was not informed of any agreements between the family and the company. The latter, based in Las Vegas, allegedly told him "that the corpse had been given for scientific, medical and educational purposes".
Information confirmed by Obteen Nassiri, one of the managers of Med Ed Labs, who nevertheless specifies that he did not know "at all" that the autopsy of David Saunders would be the subject of a public event, paying and not not restricted to medical students or healthcare professionals.
Obteen Nassiri has indicated that Med Ed Labs intends to "assume full responsibility and costs for the return of the body to its family and its cremation." Adding that the company would not have provided a body if they had known how it would be used, the official says Med Ed Labs will no longer work with Death Science in the future.
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