MSDC Statement on Post Story on Immoral Stealing of Human Remains December 14, 2023

Below is a statement from MSDC President Dr. Ashesh Patel on information shared in today's Washington Post story, "Smithsonian Targeted DC's Vulnerable to Build Brain Collection".

There are too many examples of physicians in the past, even highly respected ones, who in the pursuit of scientific knowledge, engaged in morally impermissible behavior. This was not only a failing of the individual physician but also of the healthcare system in which they practiced.

The combination of the inappropriate acquisition of human remains and their use to support racist theories make the Washington Post’s report disturbing. Sadly, this was not the first time and will not be the last time that physicians will fail patients, even those entrusted with leadership in the profession.

Recognizing this, the Medical Society of DC (MSDC) strives every day to ensure that the practice of medicine in DC is, as our vision says, the nation’s model for patient care and physician practice. We work with all stakeholders to inform DC physicians about best practices. In particular, we partner with DC government and local private stakeholders to do so.

In 2023, even before we were made aware of the Washington Post’s report, MSDC released its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) statement as the next step in its work to address medicine’s failings.  This is a continuous process we will use to live up to the high standards that medicine can and should be held to.

We also adhere to the American Medical Association’s policy H370-998: Organ Donation and Honoring Organ Donor Wishes. MSDC affirms the importance of organ and tissue donation to a healthy society but strongly believes that donations must be done within the ethical guidelines outlined by organized medicine.

We mourn the mistakes of the past and affirm the need to learn from them to ensure that they are not repeated.

Policy H370-998: Organ Donation and Honoring Organ Donor Wishes
We the AMA (1) continues to urge the citizenry to sign donor cards and supports continued efforts to educate the public on the desirability of, and the need for, organ donations, as well as the importance of discussing personal wishes regarding organ donation with appropriate family members; and (2) when a good faith effort has been made to contact the family, actively encourage Organ Procurement Organizations and physicians to adhere to provisions of the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act which allows for the procurement of organs when the family is absent and there is a signed organ donor card or advanced directive stating the decedent's desire to donate the organs.