COMMS

China buried a body trafficking scandal involving more than 4,000 corpses and 380 million yuan. Between 2015 and July 2023, Shanxi Aorui Biomaterial, a company originally spun out of a state nuclear research institute, illegally obtained over 4,000 human bodies and body parts from crematoriums, medical schools, and hospitals across multiple provinces. Workers forged donation forms by signing as the dead’s relatives. The bones were processed, including irradiation, and sold as commercial bone grafts for orthopedic and dental procedures. Police seized more than 18 tons of human bone materials and 34,000 finished products. Seventy-five suspects confessed. When Beijing lawyer Yi Shenghua published the official police files in August 2024, authorities deleted the posts and hashtags and removed him from his law firm leadership. As of late 2026, no public trial outcomes have been reported. This was not a fringe black market. It was an eight-year operation inside China’s medical supply chain.