In France, human remains donated to science have been used for car crash tests. That’s not illegal, but there would have been too little transparency about this possibility before people donated their bodies to science.
The French research institute CEESAR, which also does crash tests with cars, has used human remains in crash tests. That was revealed on French television. Journalists got their hands on a report from the Inspectorate of Science, the IGAS. He conducted research into one of the largest anatomical centers in Europe, the CDC, affiliated with the University of Paris-Descartes. “Bodies were made available to the automotive industry for crash testing,” the report literally reads.
The method is confirmed by former university administrators and by the study center that carried out the crash tests, CEESAR. It is not known how many bodies were used in total by the car industry. The research report only states that the anatomical center derives 37 percent of its revenues from contracts with industrial companies. This method is not illegal, but the next of kin knew nothing about it. It happened secretly. “On paper it all looked neat. It was said: you help a good cause,” said a lady on TV whose mother made her body available after her death. “But no one has said: we may soon have your body collide with a wall at 150 kilometers per hour.”
CEESAR test center defended the method. “We are obliged to use cadavers if we want serious research results,” scientific director Olivier Gagey told television. He added that similar experiments with remains have been done in the French army. However, it is difficult to communicate about these purposes when people decide to donate their bodies: “People did not know that their bodies could also be used by private companies,” agreed Axel Kahn, former president of the University of Paris-Descartes. “In that sense, people have been cheated.” About 170 next of kin have now filed charges against the anatomical center with the Justice Department.
Live animals in China
A year and a half ago, it came to light that China is going much further with crash tests. Images surfaced of live animals that were used for the crash tests. For example, pigs were strapped into chair structures to test the effectiveness of seat belts in collisions. Animal welfare organization PETA then sounded the alarm and urged the Chinese authorities to stop such tests.