The University of Paris-Descartes is responsible for "serious ethical breaches" in the management of the Center for the Donation of Bodies (CDC), closed since the revelations in November of indecent conditions for the preservation of human remains, according to the conclusions of a published administrative inspection Saturday.
Dilapidated premises, spoiled remains eaten away by mice, suspicion of the commodification of bodies ... The revelations of L'Express on November 27, 2019 had led the Minister of Research, Frédérique Vidal, to order the closure of the "temple of French anatomy And to mandate the General Inspectorate for Social Affairs (Igas) and the General Inspectorate for Sports Education and Research (Igesr).
Their report was transmitted to the Paris prosecutor's office, which opened a judicial investigation for "attack on the integrity of a corpse", indicated the ministry. Several dozen families have complained.
The responsible university
"Serious ethical shortcomings have persisted for several years in one of our most prestigious faculties," conclude the two inspections. For the mission, "the responsibility of the university is established because these serious events took place, the alerts were sent to the different authorities of the university and there was no lasting correction to them before 2018".
Among the causes, the report points to a dilution of responsibilities, rivalries of power, the absence of a regulatory body as well as a "race to develop the activity with prestigious private and industrial training partners" intended to compensate funding issues.
"On an individual level, the mission (...) did not identify any intention or will to harm or harm the corpses, apart from the specific case of certain preparers" who "should have been dealt with at disciplinary level several times" . The inspectors again point to a "lack of action, attributable to the management of the university and the CDC".
The public health code will evolve
"The articles in L'Express (...) have highlighted the weak framework for this activity" which "operates today in a very old minimal legal environment", they recognize.
The report therefore calls for the creation of a "national ethical framework" for the donation of bodies, hitherto "absent from all bioethics laws", and its inclusion in the public health code. Minister Frédérique Vidal announced in a press release that she would make proposals along these lines.
The inspectors consider the reopening of the center "desirable", but not before six months, the time required for the work to "secure the conditions for the storage of bodies in cold rooms", before a complete renovation.
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