Human tissue is often gathered from individuals who have given their permission for after death use of their bodies for medical purposes. However, when a human does not give consent and their body is used anyway, it is considered a crime and desecration of a human body. According to a years-long investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Biomedical Tissue Services, Ltd., did exactly this and were forced to stop operations in 2006.

The Human Body Tissue Industry - An Overview

Human body tissue is harvested and used in a variety of medical procedures, including, but not limited to bone and skin grafts, dental implants and organ transplants. Human body tissue is usually derived from funeral homes, hospitals, universities and morgues -- these are also known as tissue banks. Tests, which are largely based on industry standards, are supposed to be conducted to determine if an individual's tissue has diseases or not, additionally, a family member of the deceased is entitled to learn of the acquisitions of these reports. The FDA has submitted detailed rules that regulate every aspect of the human tissue industry's acquisition and distribution process in an effort to prevent dangerous infected tissues from getting onto the market.

Still, it is highly unregulated and human tissues are somewhat left to regulate themselves. There are hundreds of tissue banks throughout the United States, but less than eighty of these belong to the American Association of Tissue Banks, a peer organization that accredits and inspects tissue banks. Tissue banks are highly unregulated withou only a handful of states performing monitoring and licensing of these businesses. In addition, critics of the tissue donation system cite often-inadequate training and oversight at tissue bank facilities.

The consequence of this negligence in the human tissue bank industry is often severe: if a transplant recipient receives an infected batch of human tissue, they too, will likely contract the illness. Infected tissue can be the cause of a pre-existing illness that is not found during proper screening, contamination or cross-contamination in unsterile environments or when tissue is exposed to infected tissue. The illegal sale of human body tissue puts patients at risk for the contraction of serious health conditions, including but not limited to HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases.

Biomedical Tissue Services Under Fire

The FDA order regarding Biomedical Tissue Services exposes the severe flaws of the unregulated human body tissue industry in this country. The FDA's investigation revealed significant breaches in ethical and health codes at the company's facilities, where industry-standard practices were not followed and donors were inadequately screened for infectious diseases and donation suitability. In addition, the company has been implicated in the illegal acquisition of human body tissue from cadavers whose families did not give consent.

Among the list of alleged criminal acts includes falsification of death records, and inadquate records of tissue origins and sales. Michael Mastromarino was specifically named, Mastromarion, D.D.S., CEO and Executive Director of Operations for Biomedical Tissue Services, in its order.

If You've Been Affected

If you or a family member has been affected with ill-health side effects from contaminated tissue transplants, contact a medical malpractice attorney immediately. It may be possible to recover financial damages and compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other causes of action.