Unclaimed dead bodies add Rs 3.66 cr to Kerala govt’s kitty

Kochi: Unclaimed or unidentified dead bodies (cadavers) turn out to be a source of revenue for the Kerala government, suggest data. The state government earned Rs 3.66 crore since 2008 by handing over 1,122 unclaimed bodies to private medical colleges. The practice is also beneficial for private medical colleges that find it difficult to get bodies for teaching purposes. 

It may be noted that the order allowing sale of unclaimed dead bodies from state-run hospitals to private hospitals was issued in 2008. The embalmed bodies are sold for Rs 40,000 and bodies without embalming at Rs 20,000. 

As per data, Ernakulam General Hospital handed over the highest number of dead bodies. The hospital handed over 599 bodies in the last 16 years. Other hospitals which top the list are Pariyaram Medical College (166), Thrissur Medical College (157) and Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (99).

It was in the beginning of 2000s that private medical colleges started to function in the state. As the number of private medical colleges increased, more dead bodies are required for the study purpose. 

The rule book says a medical college with 60 pupils should have five dead bodies for study purposes. That means one dead body will be required for every 12 students enrolled in the medical colleges.

Interestingly, it remains a mystery how private medical colleges managed to get dead bodies before the enactment of an order allowing dead body sales in 2008.

The order was issued after a long legal suit in the Kerala High Court and subsequent discussions in the state legislature. 

The problem of insufficient availability of cadavers gained attention in 2006 when representatives from the Private Medical College Association asserted in a presser that they were spending more than Rs 3 lakhs to procure a body. In response to this revelation, M K Haridas from the social organization Proper Channel filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), urging a CBI investigation into the sale of cadavers. Responding to the PIL, the Kerala High Court directed a probe by the Crime Branch. The court mandated the concerned authorities to ensure that cadavers are exclusively handed over to state-run medical colleges and not to private institutions.