Swedish company bought dead Victor's right leg

 

 

Swedish stock market giant bought dead Victor's right leg – without family's permission

Wayne Seretis

Published 2024-12-25 14.30
 

Quick version

• A scandal was uncovered in the US where a university in Texas sold body parts from undetermined, deceased people to the medical industry without the consent of relatives.
• The Swedish company Getinge bought a leg from army veteran Victor Honey for medical experiments, but responded that the responsibility for the acquisition and cremation of remains lay with external suppliers.
• Victor Honey's family was shocked when they learned about the sale and believe that all people should be treated with dignity, regardless of their situation or family contacts.

Swedish medical technology company Getinge bought Victor's right leg. Photo: Private / TT

Army veteran Victor Honey survived ten years as a soldier.

But he did not receive a hero's funeral.

His right leg was sold to the Swedish company Getinge for medical experiments.

– The procurement and cremation of tissue samples after use is the responsibility of the external suppliers, says Caroline Örmgård, press manager at Getinge.

A medical scandal has been uncovered in the US by the television channel NBC. A university in Texas has made over one hundred million kronor from selling body parts from people to the medical industry.

We have previously written about how 21-year-old 21-year-old Aurimar was sold by the university.

The bodies came from dead people who, according to the morgues in the Texas counties of Dallas and Tarrant, had not been claimed by relatives, or whose relatives had not been contacted.

One of them is army veteran Victor Honey, whose relatives were not contacted when he died, and who were also not allowed to give any approval for his body to be used for medical experiments.

– It is like a hole in the soul that can never be filled again. It feels like an assault on us, says Victor's sister Brenda Cloud to NBC.

The invoice from the purchase.

Swedish company bought

The Swedish medical technology company Getinge bought his right leg for around 3,750 kronor, plus a number of other services.

The invoice to Getinge states “Only the right leg”.

Getinge is a listed billion-dollar industry that manufactures ventilators, heart and lung machines and much more.

Victor’s leg was used to train medical staff on Getinge’s technology for “harvesting veins”, which is then used for bypass operations on patients who are at risk of having a heart attack, among other things.

Getinge does not want to be interviewed about its procedures for purchasing dead bodies, or how they view the fact that families have not been properly informed, but emailed a statement to Aftonbladet.

– We at Getinge continuously review our policies and working methods, including our expectations of suppliers. Getinge uses external training facilities to offer practical, safe and effective product training for healthcare staff. The procurement and cremation of tissue samples after use is the responsibility of the external suppliers, and they must comply with applicable regulations. We continuously follow up on this with our suppliers, says Örmgård..

Caroline Örmgård, press officer at Getinge.

The Gulf War

Victor Honey served ten years in the US Army, including during the Gulf War. When he left the army, he received a medal for his successful service, the so-called Army Commendation Medal.

Like so many other veterans, he suffered from mental illness after his service. Victor fell through the thinly woven American safety nets.

After the divorce, he drifted around the US, often homeless, often in trouble with the law. His siblings, ex-wife and children struggled to keep in touch with him.

– He just disappeared. We didn't know where he was. It was like that for years, says ex-wife Kimberly Patman to NBC.

Victor's last contact with his family was a phone call to his son of the same name.

Found unconscious

I know you love me, Victor's son said.

On September 19, Victor was found unconscious at a train station in Dallas. The next morning, he died at Baylor University Medical Center at the age of 58.

After a few weeks, an investigator at the Dallas morgue claimed that it was not possible to contact the family, according to NBC, even though contact information for several family members was available.

On October 17, 2022, Victor's body was sent to the University of North Texas Health Science Center. There, he was frozen and his body was cut up for sale.

In addition to his right leg, his torso was purchased for about 10,000 kronor by the training company National Bioskills, and the US Army paid about 2,300 kronor for parts of his skull.

Dr. Douglas Hampers, CEO of National Bioskills, is deeply affected by the new information, and believes that bodies should not be used without consent.

– I don't think you need to violate people's rights to train doctors, he tells NBC.

Responsibility to cremate

Getinge does not want to comment on the procedures surrounding research on dead bodies, but sends its regards to the affected family.

– Our thoughts are of course with Victor Honey's family, says Caroline Örmgård.

In July 2023, Victor's remains were returned to the university, which was responsible for cremating and ensuring the burial of the remains they sold.

The ashes remained there until the spring of 2024, when NBC got in touch with Victor's family, who were very upset to hear how his and others' bodies had been used.

– Regardless of whether they had family or not, all people deserve to be treated with dignity, Victor's sister Brenda Cloud tells NBC.

On June 3, 2024, Victor Honey will be buried with a military honor guard at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

His family was finally able to say goodbye to him.