Reuters is reporting on the sentencing of Michael Mastromarino, who ran a tissue-harvesting company. Although he plead guilty to “body stealing, reckless endangerment and enterprise corruption,” his real crime is theft (see Update below). I wholeheartedly oppose his tactic of forging consent documents so that he could, in effect, steal tissue from the deceased. What happens to someone when they die is a deeply personal, and often religious, issue, so it is true that Mastromarino victimized the dead and their loved ones.

But Reuters ignores and exaggerates repeatedly in the report, making this guy appear guilty of far worse crimes. The New Yorker did a far better job of reporting on this in 2006.

Reuters:

The ring dismembered more than 1,000 cadavers in unsanitary conditions, and sold parts to doctors who transplanted them into patients.

New Yorker:

The temptations and hazards of harvesting from funeral homes are all rather obvious, and yet the government had allowed it there, the tissue companies had bought from there, and no one had inspected vigorously enough to catch the violations.

Mastromarino did not hide his business. He only forged the cadaver-release forms that, if they had been genuine, would have allowed him to do exactly what he was doing legally. The FDA and New York State Board of Health knew about his business, supposedly inspected his workshop, and never alerted anyone – Mastromarino, his clients, or the loved-ones of the deceased – to any problems.

Reuters:

One statement came from a recipient of the parts. “The disgust factor is enormous,” said Stephanie Berardini, 36, who underwent periodontal surgery throughout her mouth using tissue and bone implants from Mastromarino’s cadavers.

New Yorker:

…the general public was generally creeped out, if only from the sudden awareness of what happens to the dead behind closed doors… The FDA said that it and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “believe the risks from these tissues are low.”

Americans have become completely dependent on public agencies to tell them whether or not tomatoes are safe, if their doctor is licensed, and whether what is being implanted in them is okay. If you have surgery where bone and skin is transplanted, you may not want to know exactly where that bone and skin came from. But if you wanted to know, I would recommend against just trusting a public health official.

UPDATE: A reader has informed me that Mastromarino knew that the cadavers were diseased and hid parts of his workshop from inspectors. If this is true, then he is guilty of more than theft. The Reuters article is still more about shock factor than reporting as they attempt to indict this man for harvesting tissue from the deceased for use in medical transplants – a practice which, done properly, is legal and accepted. When someone is maliciously hiding their work from inspectors, it is difficult to catch them, which is all the more reason that you should not rely on public health officials to protect you.