Report: GM/Saab used human cadavers for crash tests

General Motors' Saab division purportedly used human bodies donated to science in crash tests, according to a Swedish newspaper. "For certain things, it's important to use cadavers," Claes Tingvall of the Swedish Road Administration told Expressen.



Mr. Tingvall said the tests involved "people who had donated their own bodies." He said using real bodies helps develop better crash dummies and, not surprisingly, provides the best possible idea of what would happen to a living human in a crash.

GM used a total of ten cadavers for the project, according to Tingvall.

Saab would not confirm or deny the reports. "We conduct our own research and try to find other methods to achieve our results, with the help of computers, for example," said Saab spokesperson Christer Nilsson. "We are with GM through thick and thin," Nilsson told the newspaper.