![[tmbchr]™](/journal/popocculture-blog-logo.jpg){kind=logo}
Alistair Cooke’s Stolen Bones
How would you feel if a family member died, and their bones were stolen and sold? This very thing happened to the corpse of legendary broadcaster Alistair Cooke who died last year. According to various sources, “rogue morticians” in Brooklyn have been running what’s being called a body-snatching ring where they harvest bone, skin and heart tissue to sell to companies that re-process such things for use in transplant patients.
Cooke’s family recently discovered that his bones had been unlawfully taken and sold for somewhere near $7,000. I heard on the radio today that harvested bones often end up in dental work. Crazy, right? Anyway, besides the fact that it was done without family consent, Cooke’s bones were also cancerous. Further, Cooke’s cause of death, age and other significant details were also forged in official documents.
This is one of those stories that is creepy enough on its own, but becomes even more disturbing when you consider the implications of it: this is probably just one story out of thousands which have either gone uncaught or unreported. It really makes you wonder about what happens after we die - not in the usual spiritual sense, but in a very earthly profane kind of way.
Just curious - by a show of hands, how many people have their ID identifying them as an organ donor? Why or why not?
December 23rd, 2005 at 9:04 pm
I have a friend who is on his third year with a new heart, thanks to a family who were willing to make the decision at a very difficult time to donate their loved one’s organs. It’s made me very supportive of the idea.
Do you all understand that whether you’ve signed the card or made other arrangements, that your next of kin still have to okay it at the time? Many of you will be with your families for the holidays. It would be a real good occasion to have a family discussion about it to make sure they understand that you want your organs donated.
I’m willing, but I now have to check into whether I’d be able to. I’m not allowed to donate blood as I’ve spent over the time limit in England (mad cow issues), and I need to check out whether Lyme disease history would be a problem (which would pretty much rule out many people in the Eastern Woodlands and other parts of the country where it is common).
December 23rd, 2005 at 10:51 pm
Merry Christmas Tim!
and, of course thanks for your fine work here.
Concerning the organ donation question. Yes I am a doner. I am also registered as a marrow donor.
Why? To make it short I believe life is for the living, and God or the Creators will take care of the Dead after I’m dead..
Why do I care what happens to me after I die?
I am literally in God’s hands.Whatever happens.
In my opinion it is more important to help a living person with something vital than it is to have a (whole) body for cremation, viewing(yuk), or internment.
I respect others views, as my wife does not feel the same way, and I will respect her wishes should I last longer than her.
December 25th, 2005 at 12:49 pm
Donar -closest thing to a celebration of death
December 26th, 2005 at 12:30 pm
Why I’m NOT an organ donar. Because I simply don’t wish to be harvested. It’s a personal decision made after much soul searching. Some might call me a coward. Some might understand.
December 26th, 2005 at 8:45 pm
Celebration of death? Far more a celebration of life.
It’s a decision to face the realization that the gift of an organ can mean life for someone else who was dying, rather than two deaths.
In my friend’s case, it has meant more time for Chuck to watch his little girl growing up. A chance to make love again with his incredible wife, who has been there for him in countless ways.
His illness has brought him so many hard-won gifts of wisdom, as illness so often does when you let it teach you. His new heart allows him to share that deepening wisdom with his students and colleagues, as well as the medical staff who serve him and his fellow patients.
There is a whole community interconnected through Chuck. While we all will die eventually, for now that particular net is strongest having him alive, so intensely alive, in the center.
Maybe if you were to understand what it means to the recipients and their loved ones, you might find a way to seeing organ donation as a positive act. Every day people die for lack of suitable donors. You could make a difference for not just one person, but for the many people who love them.