In 1999 I drove a limousine in Florida. I regularly drove to private airports in the middle of the night to pick up Transplant Team Doctors who were either delivering organs, or coming to a hospital to remove or "harvest" them. When they were finished harvesting they would put, at least some of them, like maybe a liver or kidney, in a regular cooler, you or I might buy, I would drive them to the waiting jet, and they would fly to another city, where there was a person waiting to receive.
They were supposed to be or claimed to be a "non profit" organization.
At first I thought it was all very noble but then for some reason, perhaps I asked if they just donate or give the parts to the recipients? and they said , "Oh, no." And they then began itemizing how much each of the parts were worth (as if it was almost amusing). At that time (according to those doctors) the parts in a human body were worth approximately 1 million dollars. And they seemed to use everything, including lungs, skin and bone. I began to get a distaste for this.
Later on another flight different doctors (same organization) began to pester me that I should be driving for free, since their mission was non-profit.
I was angry and asked, "Why, you're getting paid aren't you? You're not just doing this for free, are you? They admitted they were getting paid. "And you sell all the parts of the body don't you? Isn't each body worth about a million dollars to you?"
Well, I was never sent to pick up transplant doctors again. The whole business had become very dubious to me. I understand the desire to save lives but I personally know several people who were eager to have transplants, went through all sorts of horror to get them, and then the transplant only lasted 2-5 years tops, with all sorts of hospital visits and procedures in between, all costing much money. And when they were offered another transplant, they said, "No, never again." Hopefully the situation has improved since then and transplants are lasting longer. I've heard of some lasting twenty years and that seems amazing and entirely worth it. But then I wonder, how many are like this? I really hope my lingering concerns are ill founded.
Transplants and What do they do with the Organs?
In 1999 I drove a limousine in Florida. I regularly drove to private airports in the middle of the night to pick up Transplant Team Doctors who were either delivering organs, or coming to a hospital to remove or "harvest" them.
When they were finished harvesting they would put, at least some of them, like maybe a liver or kidney, in a regular cooler, you or I might buy, I would drive them to the waiting jet, and they would fly to another city, where there was a person waiting to receive.
They were supposed to be or claimed to be a "non profit" organization.
At first I thought it was all very noble but then for some reason, perhaps I asked if they just donate or give the parts to the recipients? and they said , "Oh, no." And they then began itemizing how much each of the parts were worth (as if it was almost amusing). At that time (according to those doctors) the parts in a human body were worth approximately 1 million dollars. And they seemed to use everything, including lungs, skin and bone.
I began to get a distaste for this.
Later on another flight different doctors (same organization) began to pester me that I should be driving for free, since their mission was non-profit.
I was angry and asked, "Why, you're getting paid aren't you? You're not just doing this for free, are you?
They admitted they were getting paid.
"And you sell all the parts of the body don't you? Isn't each body worth about a million dollars to you?"
Well, I was never sent to pick up transplant doctors again. The whole business had become very dubious to me. I understand the desire to save lives but I personally know several people who were eager to have transplants, went through all sorts of horror to get them, and then the transplant only lasted 2-5 years tops, with all sorts of hospital visits and procedures in between, all costing much money. And when they were offered another transplant, they said, "No, never again."
Hopefully the situation has improved since then and transplants are lasting longer. I've heard of some lasting twenty years and that seems amazing and entirely worth it. But then I wonder, how many are like this? I really hope my lingering concerns are ill founded.