Tasmanian government apologises over stolen body parts scandal
The Tasmanian government has issued an apology over a long-running scandal involving the unauthorised retention and display of body parts taken during autopsies without the consent of families.
The controversy came to light last year following an investigation which revealed that between 1966 and 1991, pathologists may have deliberately collected 177 human specimens from autopsies and transferred them to a university museum without the knowledge or approval of relatives or coroners responsible for the bodies.
The specimens were reportedly handed over to the museum without consent from the families of the deceased or authorisation from coroners.
On Tuesday, several affected relatives attended parliament as Tasmania’s Health Minister, Bridget Archer, formally apologised for the “lasting distress, anger, pain, grief and trauma” caused by the practice.
She told parliament that although the practices ended more than three decades ago, the emotional impact on families remains significant.
“It’s important to remember that these were not simply specimens or remains, but human beings,” she stated.
For Cheryl Springfield, whose brother David Maher died in a car accident in 1976 at the age of 14, the apology was appreciated but insufficient to fully address the pain caused.
She said she was devastated after learning that parts of her brother’s body were among those involved in the investigation, describing the experience as deeply traumatic.
Another affected relative, John Santi, said he was shocked to discover decades after burying his brother Tony, who died in a motorcycle crash in 1976 aged 19, that his brain had allegedly been taken without the family’s knowledge.
Questions surrounding specimens displayed at the University of Tasmania RA Rodda Museum in Hobart first emerged in 2016 after concerns were raised that three bone samples may have been obtained without family consent.
The revelations prompted the state coroner to launch an investigation into the museum’s collection in April 2023, with findings released in September that year.
Coroner Simon Cooper concluded that the late forensic pathologist Dr Royal Cummings had supplied most of the specimens to the museum, although evidence suggested other pathologists before and after him may also have engaged in the practice.
He further indicated that pathologists may have intentionally sourced specimens from coronial autopsies for the museum’s collection.
Coronial autopsies are typically conducted to investigate unexpected, suspicious, or custody-related deaths.
Following the government’s apology, the university’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Health, Graeme Zosky, acknowledged the seriousness of the matter and apologised to the affected families, saying university officials had met with many of them.
The RA Rodda Pathology Museum, established in 1966 to support medical teaching and research, had 177 investigated specimens, including organs and tissue samples, removed from public display in 2018.
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