An Al Jazeera investigative series has revealed that human bodies donated for education and scientific research in the United States were used in training programs involving the US Navy and Israeli military medical teams. The report centers on concerns raised by Miriam Volpin, whose mother had donated her body to the University of Southern California (USC) for research but may have been used in combat-related surgical training linked to conflicts such as Israel’s Gaza operations.

Student journalists from USC and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) found that since 2018, USC supplied at least 89 preserved bodies to the US Navy for Israeli surgical team training. A 2020 medical paper described a four-day combat trauma surgery course using artificially perfused cadavers to simulate battlefield injuries. USC denied the program was military, calling it educational, while the US Navy said the training aimed to improve trauma surgery skills.

The investigation also found that between 2024 and early 2026, UCSD transferred 124 bodies to USC to meet training demand. Families of donors have expressed anger and ethical concerns, prompting renewed debate over transparency and consent in body donation programs.