A Texas medical school has suspended its body donation program after an investigation revealed that many bodies were used without consent of the deceased or their families.

The investigation by NBC News found that since 2019, Dallas and Tarrant counties had sent over 2,350 unclaimed bodies to the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. Some of these bodies were also shipped to medical device manufacturers, other universities and the Army.

"These recipients leased the body parts for hundreds of dollars apiece — $900 for a torso, $341 for a leg — so that doctors could practice medical procedures," the probe discovered.

In response, the university announced on Friday that it would halt its body donation program, permanently shut down its BioSkills Lab, and fire the program's leadership while conducting an internal investigation.

NBC News also reported that death investigators in the counties often failed to contact family members before declaring bodies unclaimed. Many families only learned what happened to their loved ones months or even years later.

"It's like a hole in your soul that can never be filled," Brenda Cloud, the sister of Army veteran Victor Honey, whose body was dissected and leased, said. "We feel violated."

The arrangement between the medical school and the counties saved about $500,000 annually in burial costs for the counties, while the school earned approximately $2.5 million each year from selling body parts to medical and tech companies.

Several recipients of these body parts, including major entities like the U.S. Army and Johnson & Johnson's DePuy Synthes, were allegedly unaware that they were receiving unclaimed remains. This has prompted several companies to review their policies in response.

"The findings shared with our Office are deeply concerning and an immediate review of every aspect of the program is underway. Every individual deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, both in life and in death. Nothing else is acceptable," the Office of Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare said in a statement earlier this month.

Both counties plan to discuss the recent findings this week.