On The DL

David Flood

by Nick Norlen

Organ Procurement: Urban Legends and Other Tales from the Dark Side of Organ TransplantationMon., Oct. 29, 6 p.m., free with admission of $12, Mütter Museum, 19 S. 22nd St., 215-563-3737, www.collphyphil.org

Call it the attack of the piecemeal body snatchers. This month, three Philadelphia funeral home directors were charged with selling diseased organs and tissue that eventually made their way back to hospitals. "This is modern-day body snatching. We don't take the whole corpse, we just take parts," says Drexel professor David Flood, who will address shady organ procurement methods in a presentation at the Mütter Museum.

The lecture is similar to one Flood gives his medical students to explore what's on the minds of both potential organ donors and recipients. The discussion is rife with urban legends (the one about waking up in a tub of ice) and real-life accounts (kidneys sold on eBay, transplant tourism). The problem is not a new one. As in the days of 19th-century grave robbers, acquisition goes underground because those who need the scarce materials are less likely to ask questions. "There is a much greater need for organs than there is supply," he says.

According to Flood, it's a matter of mortality versus morality. "When you're desperate, morality goes out the window. It's rooted in human nature — that will to survive," he says. "How many questions would you ask if someone said, 'I can get you an organ, just don't ask where I can get it'?"