Woman Shocked After Husband’s Body, Donated To Science, Used As Crash Test Dummy

Body donation after death is a common practice followed by many individuals across nations. It helps researchers and medical students to study, analyse and comprehend the human body for scientific purposes. While medical pupils get a detailed idea of Human Anatomy, physicians utilise the cadavers for the development of medicines and life-saving drugs. However, a US-based woman got the shock of her life after finding out that her husband’s body, given to science, was not put to any science-related purpose, but used as a “crash test dummy” in the army.

According to a report by Mirror, the woman’s husband registered as an organ donor in 2012. His application was rejected after he passed away from liver cirrhosis. Medics informed his wife Jill that her husband’s dead body was unfit for donation and suggested she give it to scientific utilisation. In an interview with CBS, she revealed, “What I envisioned was him being in some medical facility. I just thought, what a great candidate for them to learn about the results of alcoholism and what it does to a body.”

But things didn’t go as planned. The woman cited that after her husband’s body was taken to the Biological Research Center (BRC) in Arizona, it was later sold to the Department of Defence without her consent, claimed Mirror. The woman learned about the news from the founder of the BRC donation facility which has now been closed. At the Defence centre, the woman discovered that her late partner’s body was being used as a “crash test dummy in a simulated Humvee explosion.”

The authorities at BRC did not take Jill’s permission before selling the body illegally to the Defence unit. The company also sold thousands of other bodies that were later used for the conduction of ballistic and military tests, causing “the complete mutilation and desecration of the donor’s body.” The woman exclaimed that she was “devastated” by the incident.

Social media users reacted to the news strongly. “Sometimes if you donate your body to science, and they can’t use it, they won’t tell you & they just dispose of it,” claimed one individual. “That’s awful” commented another. “I hope she got compensated for lack of permission,” wished another.