New York ? Revelations about illicit body parts trafficking has sent shock waves through the legitimate side of the organ and tissue trade.

Convincing bereaved families to donate the body parts of their recently deceased loved ones can be a challenge even without the pall cast by the tissue looting scandal.

Authorities have accused the owner of a New Jersey tissue services company and three others for allegedly stealing bones and tissue from corpses using a secret room in a Brooklyn funeral home to carve up the bodies. The four men were charged last week.

“This is of great concern to us. It attacks the trust that people have in the system,” said Robert Rigney, executive director of the American Association of Tissue Banks.

The group accredits and inspects the 91 member tissue banks that account for 95 percent of the tissue used for transplants in the United States.

Unlike organs such as lungs, hearts and kidneys, which are handled only by a network of nonprofit groups, tissues – including bones, heart valves, skin and ligaments – can be processed for profit.