FDA Revisits Handling of Harvested Body Parts
August 31, 2006 15:10

The Food and Drug Administration said yesterday it has formed a task force to study its regulation of the body part industry, including the effectiveness of rules implemented just last year, prior to the two most recent scandals. Earlier this year a Kensington funeral home was under investigation for its ties to New Jersey-based Biomedical Tissue Services and a ring of more than 30 funeral homes that allegedly harvested body parts - some of which were diseased - without the consent of the donors. Earlier this month, the FDA shut down Donor Referral Services of Raleigh, N.C., saying the company had serious deficiencies in processing, screening, and record-keeping. The FDA said the records for at least five donors did not match their death certificates. (Philly.com)