A La Jolla woman says what was supposed to be her mother’s final act of generosity turned into a nightmare she never signed up for. After learning that bodies donated to UC San Diego’s body-donation program may have been transferred for military medical training, including courses attended by foreign medics, she says she feels misled by the university. The revelations, driven by student journalists and an AJ+ documentary, have shaken donor families and pushed UC officials into issuing systemwide explanations.
Kaia Gantzel told The San Diego Union-Tribune that her mother, Sari, who died in 2021, had arranged to donate her body to UCSD. The family later received ashes, but Gantzel said there was little information about how her mother’s remains were used and that she now feels tricked by the process.
How Investigators Traced The Chain
The outcry did not come out of nowhere. A student investigation by USC Annenberg Media dug through federal contracts and school records and found that USC supplied dozens of fresh cadaver bodies to the U.S. Navy. Federal payments totaled more than $860,000 for at least 89 bodies used in trauma-training courses.
Contracts and medical papers cited in that reporting describe the use of perfused cadavers, meaning bodies pumped with fluid to simulate active bleeding, in order to recreate battlefield injuries for hands-on surgical practice.
University Response And System Policy
Facing tough questions from families, the University of California issued a systemwide statement saying UC “does not sell donated remains under any circumstance” and that limited loans to accredited institutions are reviewed by panels that weigh scientific and educational merit. As outlined by the University of California Health, any fees tied to transfers between institutions are described as cost recovery for transportation, preparation, and final disposition…