RPL is proud to partner with VCU and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) to present “Transplantation, Medical Ethics, and the Pursuit of Equity,” as a way of bringing scientific ideas to and sparking meaningful conversations to the public.
The 2022 Virginia Commonwealth University Common Book is The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South, a “powerful story that examines institutional racism, mortality, medical ethics and the nature of justice for Black men living in the American South” (Kirkus Reviews). The award-winning book, written by Pulitzer-nominated journalist Chip Jones, tells the story of Bruce Tucker, a Black man who went to the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond in 1968 with a head injury only to later have his heart taken out and transplanted to the chest of a white businessman.
Joel Newman (Senior Communications Strategist, UNOS) will discuss the social and medical history of transplantation and donation, with a focus on medical ethics and the ongoing pursuit of equity.
If you are interested in obtaining free copies and/or accompanying resources of The Organ Thieves to host your own discussion of this fascinating work, please contact Ben Himmelfarb at Benjamin.himmelfarb@rva.gov .