Controversy Over Sale of Human Remains at Glasgow Auction
A Glasgow auction house established by television presenter Anita Manning has come under scrutiny for offering human remains for sale. The items, including human bones and a skull, were scheduled to be auctioned on a Friday but were withdrawn by Great Western Auctions following contact from BBC Scotland News.
Experts condemned the auction as "unethical and unacceptable in any form." The remains are believed to have originated from India or China and were likely sold overseas for academic study in universities.
The lot was valued between £500 and £800 and was contained in a box labeled as belonging to an anatomy class at the University of Glasgow.
Legal and Ethical Concerns Surrounding the Sale
In the UK, it is not illegal to sell or auction human remains if they are over 100 years old. However, concerns have been raised about the provenance of many remains used in medical education, as they often come from other countries without the consent of the deceased or their families.
"The buying and selling of human remains for commercial gain robs the deceased of their dignity, and is both unethical and unacceptable in any form," said Dr Lauren McIntyre of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology.
"Most medical and anatomical remains like the ones that were to go to auction in Glasgow are the product of 20th Century mass export from countries like India and China, rather than being from consenting donors.
"The export of human skeletons from India was only banned in 1985 amid government fears of grave robbing and murder, although there is evidence that the trade continues.
"The export of human skeletons from China was only banned in 2008. Therefore, many of the examples seen for sale may actually be of very recent date."
Regulatory Oversight and Possible Origins of the Remains
Professor Gordon Findlater, Her Majesty's Inspector of Anatomy, responsible for licensing and regulating anatomical services in the UK, commented on the situation. He suggested several scenarios for how the bones came to be auctioned, including a student borrowing the remains for study—an allowance in past decades at the university—and failing to return them, or a donation from a doctor's family who had used the bones professionally.
"Without knowing who is selling these bones, it is impossible to know how the seller came across them," he stated.
"If the bones came from a donated body at some point in the past, then it is in breach of the current Code of Practice for Anatomical Examination in Scotland 'for any individual or organisation to make financial profit from bodies donated to medical science'."
Response from Great Western Auctions and Background on Anita Manning
Following the BBC's inquiry, Great Western Auctions confirmed the withdrawal of the lot, stating simply: "The lot has been withdrawn."
The company, located on Dumbarton Road, was founded in 1989 by Anita Manning and her daughter Larissa. Manning is recognized as one of Scotland's pioneering female auctioneers and has built a successful television career with appearances on programmes such as Bargain Hunt and Flog It!.
Calls for Legislative Changes and Current Legal Framework
In 2024, Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy advocated for a ban on the sale of human remains in auction houses and on social media platforms.
The Human Tissue Act currently prohibits "commercial dealings" of human tissue only in the context of medical transplantation, not the sale of remains as artefacts. Additionally, the Act applies only to remains less than 100 years old, leaving many historic remains outside its scope.
