Harvard Medical School anatomical gift settlement

Harvard has agreed to a $53 million settlement over how Harvard Medical School's anatomical gift program handled donated bodies. If you are the spouse, registered domestic partner, child, parent, sibling or designated designee of a donor whose remains left the Harvard morgue between January 1, 2003 and March 31, 2023 — or the grandchild of a donor in the January 2018 to March 2023 window — you may be eligible for a share. The settlement splits the money in two: $52.5 million for donors in the 2018 to 2023 period and $500,000 for donors from 2003 to 2017, with each family's share depending on how many valid claims are filed. Claims must reach the administrator by December 9, 2026, the same day the court considers final approval, and filing on the official settlement site is free.

Official claim page Official notice

When the money moves

What the official materials say about the payment schedule for this settlement, and what the administrator has published since. Every figure below is linked to the page it was read from.

Expected

The notice schedules the final approval hearing for December 9, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.; distribution follows approval and any appeals, and the notice gives no payment date.

Read off the official notice, in its own words. These dates slip — an appeal can move a distribution by a year or more — so treat it as the administrator's plan rather than a schedule.

Source: the official notice ↗

Facts from the official materials

Status: Open
Type: Class-action settlement
Category: Health care
Defendant / company: President and Fellows of Harvard College
Administrator: Simpluris (HarvardMorgueSettlement.com)
Claim deadline: December 9, 2026
Eligibility period: January 1, 2003 – March 31, 2023
States: See official notice (often nationwide)
Proof: Notice ID / PIN from the official letter or email may be required
Possible amount: Share of a $53M fund
Source confidence: high
Last verified: October 11, 2026

Covered products and services

Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gift Program

Nicole MacTaggart, et al. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, et al. · 2384CV01389-BLS2 · Massachusetts Superior Court, Suffolk County

Each fund is first divided by the number of donors for whom timely valid claims are filed, then split among that donor's claiming relatives according to the plan of allocation, so no per-person figure can be stated in advance. Class counsel may ask the court for up to one third of the settlement, up to $17,666,666.67, plus expenses. The online claim form opens with a LoginID and PIN from the mailed notice, and the administrator will issue credentials to a class member who emails a name and mailing address. Amounts are estimates and are not guaranteed.

Important dates

Claim deadline: December 9, 2026
Opt-out deadline: November 16, 2026
Fairness hearing: December 9, 2026

Where the settlement fund goes

$52.5 million is allocated to the primary settlement class, covering donors whose remains left the Harvard morgue between January 1, 2018 and March 31, 2023, and $500,000 to the pre-2018 class, covering donors whose remains left between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2017.

Eligibility questions

These questions help you decide whether to read the official notice. They are not a legal determination.

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