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The Internet, once thought to be
a source of entertainment, has become a source of news for millions.
Unfortunately, too many people place full trust in a medium without checking
out the authenticity of the messages. Few
TV shows or movies portray transplantation in a positive manner and even fewer
bother to give an accurate portrayal of the process of procurement and surgery.
If they mention the donation shortage at all, it is only to make a "black
market" and murder for the sake of obtaining organs seem plausible.
Organizations, professionals, and all concerned individuals need to
make their protests known. Public awareness of various "life or
death" health concerns is often crucial, but none more so than the need
for organ donation. A constant
barrage of negative and fallacious stories on organ donation would be
intolerable.
Unfortunately, a message on organ
theft has been passed around the globe by e-mail and word of mouth. It is anything
but the truth. It’s as unbelievable as Bigfoot, as common as the alleged Elvis
sightings and has the transplant community cringing. It often begins with
"This is not a joke," or "Alert for business travelers".
A tale describing how kidneys were
stolen from a college student or business person was originally circulated
several years ago. This has recently resurfaced, according to reports from
members of the transplant community. In another version, the victim is a
business traveler. In both versions, the tale is the same.
The victim is offered a drink by
a stranger and accepts it. The drink is spiked with something and the victim
wakes up naked in a bathtub filled with ice. A phone is on a nearby table. A
note on his chest reads, "Call 911 or you will die." The call is made
and the dispatcher asks him to check his back. Two incisions are found and EMTs
are sent to the rescue. One version indicates the kidneys were stolen and sold
for $10,000 each on the black market.
The message alleged this has
happened in New Orleans Houston or Las Vegas.
Police and rescue squads have been alerted in all three communities, the
message says. Nothing could be further from the truth. Calls to authorities in
all three cities prove the message is a hoax. "We have absolutely no
report of this sort of thing happening at all," said New Orleans Police
Officer Joe Narcisse. "As far as we’re concerned, we have no information
on this."
In Houston, Police Spokesman John Leiggio said,
"It’s someone's idea of a practical joke. It’s unfortunate that the Internet doesn’t have some kind of watchdogs."
Leiggio’s advice: "Ignore it."
Major movies produced which
featured murder and corruption in organ procurement include
"Heartless" and "Spares" and "The Harvest." An episode of Law and Order featured a kidney
stolen from a kidnap victim, while an episode of Chicago Hope in 1996 portrayed,
with relish the impossible scenario of a single resident (doctor) misdiagnosing
brain death. The patient recovers on the operating table as procurement begins.
The surgeons then consider euthanizing the patient so that they can continue to
take his organs. Many people will have seen the Chicago Hope episode. ****** (See Below)
While it may be fiction, even viewers who can totally discount implausible
story lines seen on the screen can’t help but come away with a negative
impression. The media themselves will insist that because it is just
fiction they can portray anything they wish. This is, of course, obviously not
the case. So the media need to be
constantly reminded of their responsibility. Aside from the confusion these
programs have introduced about the facts of transplantation, they have
undoubtedly left an impression that organ donation is potentially harmful.
Howard Nathan, president of the
Gift of Life Donor Program, the nonprofit organ donor program serving the
greater Philadelphia area, called on Internet users to stop forwarding the kidney heist hoax. "We have seen this false story
circulated. The Internet story continues to be circulated and has a negative
and harmful impact on the public’s perception of the medical community and the
organ donor program," Mr. Nathan said………….Asking people to consider death and dying and organ donation is a
difficult task. We shouldn’t have to compete with false and outrageous organ
donation stories on the Internet or anywhere else."
****** Letter by Dr. Lily Ng
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