Federal contracts show the U.S. Navy has paid the University of Southern California more than $860,000 since 2017 for fresh human cadavers used in trauma surgery training. A portion of those bodies has been used in courses that include Israeli Defense Forces medical teams. The arrangement raises documented questions about donor consent, the use of unclaimed remains, and the ethics of foreign-military participation.
Key Takeaways by Planet Today
The contracts: Navy payments to USC for “fresh cadaver bodies” exceed $860,000 across multiple agreements; at least 89 bodies have been supplied, with a documented subset used in IDF-related trauma courses at the Navy Trauma Training Center.
The training: IDF surgical teams (surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists) participate in multi-day hands-on courses using perfused and non-perfused cadavers to practice combat trauma procedures. The program of hosting IDF medical personnel dates to at least 2013.
Sourcing: Bodies come from USC’s Anatomical Gift Program and, in significant numbers, from transfers originating in the University of California San Diego body-donation program. Some remains have also been obtained through Los Angeles County’s Office of Decedent Affairs.
Consent gap: Standard donor forms typically authorize use for medical education and research. They do not specifically disclose possible use by foreign military personnel. Families of unclaimed remains have no opportunity to consent or object.
Official stance vs. criticism: USC and the Navy describe the work as legitimate trauma-skills training that strengthens an alliance. Critics, including some physicians and ethics scholars, argue the lack of specific consent and the foreign-military application cross ethical lines.
Investigative reporting by USC Annenberg Media, beginning in October 2025 and followed by additional reporting into 2026, examined federal contracting records between the U.S. Navy and the University of Southern California. The records show a series of agreements under which the Navy purchased fresh human cadavers for use at the Navy Trauma Training Center (NTTC), located at Los Angeles General Medical Center and supported by USC’s Keck School of Medicine.
According to the contracts reviewed by Annenberg Media, the Navy has paid USC more than $860,000 for at least 89 cadavers since late 2017. One active or recently extended contract included options that could bring the cumulative total near $1.1 million. A portion of the bodies—earlier reporting cited 32—was designated for or used in training sessions that included Israeli Defense Forces medical teams. Courses typically allocate three cadavers per IDF session and provide roughly 96 hours of hands-on surgical technician time, including work on both non-perfused and perfused cadavers (bodies in which artificial blood is circulated to simulate living tissue).
How the Program Operates
The NTTC’s core mission is to prepare U.S. Navy physicians, nurses and hospital corpsmen for deployment by providing realistic trauma exposure. The same facility and lab infrastructure have hosted IDF “forward surgical teams” and related medical personnel since at least 2013, according to Navy statements and USC acknowledgments. A 2020 medical paper co-authored by Navy and USC instructors described a four-day combat trauma surgery skills course that used cadavers to teach anatomy, instrumentation and technical procedures for battlefield injuries.
Perfused cadavers allow trainees to practice under conditions closer to live surgery. The contracts cover acquisition, antibody testing, storage, perfusion services, laboratory access and disposable supplies. USC coordinates the supply of bodies, including arranging transfers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine when required by the curriculum schedule.
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| The Navy Trauma Training Center’s classes take place at Los Angeles General Medical Center. |
Los Angeles County, which operates the hospital, has stated that its own agreement with the Navy covers only U.S. personnel and does not authorize foreign nationals under the county contract. The IDF participation occurs under separate Navy–USC arrangements.
Consent and the Source of the Bodies
Two primary pipelines supply the cadavers. USC operates its own Anatomical Gift Program, which receives voluntary donations. UC San Diego’s body-donation program has transferred substantial numbers of bodies to USC for the Navy program; one period examined by student journalists recorded more than 100 allocations from the UC system to USC. In addition, some remains have been obtained through the Los Angeles County Office of Decedent Affairs, which handles unclaimed or unidentified decedents.
Donor authorization forms at both universities generally permit use for medical education, training and research. They do not, according to reporting and public FAQs examined by journalists, specifically inform donors or next of kin that bodies may be used in courses involving foreign military medical teams. Unclaimed remains, by definition, arrive without any personal consent. Ethics researchers, including anatomy professor Thomas Champney of the University of Miami, have emphasized that deceased individuals retain a claim to dignity and that the absence of specific informed consent for military or foreign-military use is a legitimate ethical concern.
Some Keck physicians and medical students interviewed by Annenberg Media and later by other outlets expressed discomfort, describing the program as oriented more toward desensitization to severe trauma than toward ordinary clinical education. USC and Navy spokespeople counter that the training improves life-saving skills for personnel who will treat battlefield casualties and that the center operates under applicable regulations.
Official Justifications and Criticisms
The Navy has framed the arrangement as part of interoperability and partnership with “one of our key military allies.” USC’s Keck School of Medicine has described the invitation of international medical personnel as educational in nature and has stated that the Navy-related courses represent only a small fraction of the total activity in the Fresh Tissue Dissection Lab, which also serves civilian specialties.
Critics focus on three points: (1) the lack of specific donor or family consent for foreign-military use; (2) the use of unclaimed bodies over which no private party can object; and (3) the political and moral implications of providing advanced trauma training to the armed forces of a country engaged in an active, highly contested conflict. These criticisms have been voiced by individual physicians, student journalists, and advocacy groups; they have not, as of the most recent reporting, produced a formal halt to the contracts.
Follow-up reporting in 2026 confirmed that contracts continued to be extended and that additional payments were made. Annenberg Media and collaborating outlets also documented photographic evidence of Israeli military personnel, including individuals associated with specific brigades, present in the hospital vicinity during training periods.
Two Contextual Notes
First, the use of cadavers for advanced trauma and surgical skills training is not unique to this program; many U.S. military and civilian trauma centers rely on fresh-tissue labs. What is distinctive here is the combination of federal contracting, university body-donation pipelines, and regular participation by a foreign military. Second, the financial scale—hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years—is modest relative to overall defense and university research budgets, yet it is large enough to sustain a recurring course schedule.
Where the Evidence Stands
Public contracting records, university statements and investigative reporting establish that the Navy has paid USC for cadavers used in trauma training that includes IDF medical teams; that bodies have been sourced from both voluntary donation programs and county unclaimed remains; and that specific consent for foreign-military use is not part of standard donor documentation. The official purpose is surgical skill development. Ethical objections center on consent, dignity and the foreign-military application.
Whether the arrangement should continue, be modified to require explicit consent, or be restricted to U.S. personnel is a policy and ethical question that the available documents do not resolve. The factual record, however, is no longer in serious dispute: American cadavers obtained through university and county channels have been, and under current contracts can continue to be, used in Navy-sponsored courses that train Israeli military medical teams.
Primary sources: USC Annenberg Media investigations (October 2025 initial report and subsequent updates through 2026) — first major story and follow-ups; federal Navy–USC contract documents referenced therein; statements from Keck School of Medicine, Navy Trauma Training Center, and Los Angeles County; additional reporting by UCSD Guardian, Daily Californian, Al Jazeera/AJ+, and others.
Disclaimer: This article summarizes publicly reported contracting records, university statements and investigative journalism as of mid-2026. It does not assert that any specific named individual’s remains were used without legal authority under California or federal rules. Ethical judgments about consent and foreign-military participation remain contested. Readers should consult the original Annenberg Media reporting and primary contract documents for full detail.