Kelvin Moore's family plans lawsuit over missing organs

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University Of Alabama Birmingham Students Raise Questions About Inmate Cadavers

During the research process for this story, Andscape spoke to 13 former UAB medical students who raised their concerns to the Department of Pathology and the school’s ethics committee in 2018 about the amount of incarcerated persons whom they were studying.

“I remember someone from the Department of Pathology writing down, ‘No more than one-third of the specimens came from incarcerated people,’ ” a former student said.

“And it seems like to them, they were saying that that wasn’t a disproportionate number, but to me, that stood out because one-third of the population of Alabama is not incarcerated.”

Upon facing off in a tense meeting with UAB’s administration, the students were essentially told that not asking permission from families was a “ask forgiveness, not permission” policy that the University felt was for the greater good.

Two faculty representatives contended that the university’s practice of not getting family consent was the right way to approach their work. According to a report from the meeting, the faculty members argued: “Organs removed from a cadaver’s body during autopsy are then used for the secondary purposes of teaching future physicians and thereby benefits future patients. If such uses are disallowed, these specimens would only be disposed of, serving no useful purpose.”

It should go without saying that a great many of these cadavers were Black men just like Kelvin Moore. Eventually, the family was able to obtain Kelvin’s remains which were given to them in a red medical bag that they never opened. The bag was buried with Kelvin at his funeral. However, in light of the lawsuit that they are planning, Kelvin’s body may have to be exhumed so those alleged organs can be examined. Technically, UAB could have put anyone’s organs in that bag just to quell the controversy.

We’re staying on top of this story and will have more information as it becomes available.