New Jersey family says loved one who died was unrecognizable after body parts were donated

A New Jersey family is accusing an organ procurement organization of pressuring them to donate their loved one's body tissues and organs without letting them know that he would be unrecognizable at his funeral.

Jessica Corsini, of Roseland, says she was shocked to see her 41-year-old brother, Rosario, in a casket at his viewing after his body parts were donated to the New Jersey Sharing Network (NJSN).

"When I saw my brother, the first thing I said is, 'That is not my brother,'" she said. "He looked like an 80-year-old man."

Corsini says the organ procurement organization even told her to carefully handle her brother, who died in June of a condition linked to albinism, because his bones were missing.

"I was told that they took all of the skin from his back," Corsini said.

She says she had no idea her brother was a donor until she got a midnight call from the NJSN just hours after his death. She alleges they pressured her into donating his body parts. She says she consented, but alleges the NJSN didn't tell her the donations would radically alter the appearance of his body.

"I was very angry. I was very, very angry," Corsini said.

In a lawsuit, her attorney also claims NJSN never told the family the donation was not charitable.

"What they didn't tell her is that the New Jersey Sharing Network would harvest body parts, and in this case, bones, heart valves, corneas and skin," attorney Bruce Nagel said. "These body parts, based upon medical records that we have reviewed, ended up both in cosmetic use and sale on the international market."

CBS News New York went to the NJSN offices in New Providence, and a spokesperson said they'd look into the allegations. We also reached out by email and have not heard back.

"Ask questions. When you go to the DMV or you get your renewal in the mail, all it says is, 'Do you want to be an organ/tissue donor?' And it shouldn't just be one blank statement question," Corsini said.

Corsini says her main goal is to change laws and to make sure that people get detailed information before choosing to be a donor.