UCLA Records Reveal $16,065 in Fees at Center of Fetal-Tissue Dispute

The $16,065 paper trail

FaithfulHeartbeat examined the purchase orders and correspondence posted by CMP. Four orders dated August 24 and September 12, 2023, list 14 livers and seven thymus specimens. Their totals are $5,355, $3,825, $3,825 and $3,060. Together, the 21 entries add up to $16,065.

That is the total listed on the orders, not proof that the entire amount was paid. In a September 11 email, Cercle said the $5,355 July invoice had been paid, while later procurements remained unpaid because of problems with the purchase orders.

Fox identified the purchasing operation as part of the David Geffen School of Medicine’s Division of Hematology-Oncology. UCLA’s involvement gives the dispute a clear public-institution dimension, but these documents do not establish which funding source paid each charge. They should not be presented as proof that a particular federal grant financed all $16,065.

Why Cercle wanted the wording changed

The correspondence shows Cercle objecting to references to sales tax. Its accounts manager said that language could suggest the company was selling the specimens, whereas Cercle maintained it was charging for procurement services. The company asked UCLA to tie payments to sample numbers and dates while describing them as service charges.

A UCLA reply on September 12 supplied replacement purchase orders. The exchange documents a dispute over billing language; it does not, by itself, establish a cover-up or an unlawful transaction.

The law requires more than a label

Under 42 U.S.C. § 289g-2, knowingly acquiring, receiving or transferring human fetal tissue for valuable consideration is unlawful when the transfer affects interstate commerce. The same statute excludes reasonable payments associated with transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control or storage from that prohibition.

Calling a charge a service fee does not settle whether it falls within those exceptions. Equally, a uniform charge per specimen does not establish an illegal sale. The underlying work and reasonable expenses matter.

Fox reported that the records it reviewed lacked Cercle’s underlying invoices and cost calculations, leaving it unable to establish whether the fees exceeded reasonable procurement-related expenses. The records do not establish that UCLA, Cercle or their personnel acted illegally or unethically. Neither UCLA nor Cercle responded to Fox’s requests for comment.

FaithfulHeartbeat Perspective

Unborn children possess God-given worth that cannot be measured by their usefulness to a laboratory. That conviction is why the sourcing of fetal tissue and the financial arrangements around it deserve serious moral scrutiny—not automatic deference to institutional prestige or the promise of research benefits.

Our position is that public institutions should explain what they obtain, how consent and sourcing are verified, and what the associated fees actually cover. Meaningful disclosure can protect patient privacy and researchers’ safety while still allowing taxpayers to judge institutional decisions.

The next useful step is a documented accounting of the costs and the specimens’ origins. A change in purchase-order terminology is not a substitute for that explanation. Respect for human life and responsible stewardship of public resources demand answers, not simply more careful wording.