UMVA has learned that a quiet Iowa hospital is now at the center of a disturbing and emotionally charged lawsuit after the daughters of a 69‑year‑old Air Force veteran discovered their father’s organs and tissue were taken without permission.
The case centers on Martin Gillespie, a man his family remembers as a devoted father of three and grandfather of eight. He arrived at a Missouri Valley hospital on April 1 and was pronounced dead shortly afterward. What happened next has left his family stunned and grieving all over again.
According to information obtained by UMVA, Gillespie had never agreed to donate his organs, tissue, or eyes at any point in his life. Yet within hours of his death, his body was referred for harvesting—without a single attempt to contact his daughters, who were his legal next of kin.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that hospital staff incorrectly identified an aunt as the person authorized to make decisions about anatomical gifts. Court filings reveal that this aunt had no legal authority, no medical power of attorney, and no designation of any kind that would allow her to make such choices.
Despite this, the Iowa Donor Network proceeded to remove Gillespie’s organs, skin, tissue, and eyes the very same day. His body was then sent to a local funeral home for cremation, leaving his daughters to learn after the fact that irreversible procedures had already taken place.
The lawsuit argues that both daughters were fully reachable and available to make decisions, yet the hospital failed to follow even the most basic protocols for identifying and contacting next of kin. The complaint describes this failure as a profound violation—one that inflicted deep emotional trauma on a family already mourning the sudden loss of their father.
They are now seeking more than $75,000 in damages, accusing the hospital of malpractice, fraud, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Their filing underscores one painful truth: during his lifetime, Gillespie never consented to any form of anatomical donation, and his daughters believe that choice should have been honored.
