The Organ Thieves

The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South

By: Chip Jones

Narrated by: JD Jackson

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks meets Get Out in this “startling…powerful” (Kirkus Reviews) investigation of racial inequality at the core of the heart transplant race.

In 1968, Bruce Tucker, a black man, went into Virginia’s top research hospital with a head injury, only to have his heart taken out of his body and put into the chest of a white businessman. Now, in The Organ Thieves, Pulitzer Prize–nominated journalist Chip Jones exposes the horrifying inequality surrounding Tucker’s death and how he was used as a human guinea pig without his family’s permission or knowledge.

The circumstances surrounding his death reflect the long legacy of mistreating African Americans that began more than a century before with cadaver harvesting and worse. It culminated in efforts to win the heart transplant race in the late 1960s. Featuring years of research and fresh reporting, along with a foreword from social justice activist Ben Jealous, “this powerful book weaves together a medical mystery, a legal drama, and a sweeping history, its characters confronting unprecedented issues of life and death under the shadows of centuries of racial injustice” (Edward L. Ayers, author of The Promise of the New South).

A shocking revelation

As a resident of Virginia, a student of MCV in early 70s, I am dismayed this case was never presented in my ethics or law or anatomy studies. Thank you to the author for the research.

Pretty interesting

Pretty well written, highlighting various interesting parts of the social and medical world in the past.
It's definitely hard to hear (especially as a healthcare provider) that any human would be mistreated in the hospital in any way, but I guess that's the point.

The narrator's voice is lovely but he has an odd cadence, even when not quoting.

life changing

takes a bit of patience to get through the whole thing due to the length and the somewhat technical subjects of law and medical sciences and the history of both fields. But it is explained well, in simple terms that are clear to understand regardless of your educational background or personal knowledge. This is one of those few books that will forever leave a heavy impression on me. well done. well researched.

Touching Story with context through the years

I would have like to think that this story was the result of someone’s vivid and twisted imagination but it wasn’t. It’s a story about facts and America’s shameful medical mistreatment of black people. Unfortunately it is only a small portion of why medical professions face the challenge of obtaining the trust of black communities. There is still so much work to be done but if we don’t recognize the wrongs of the past we are certainly bound to repeat it.

Shameful History in detail

I just listened to The Organ Thieves for a book circle here in Richmond, Virginia. Two years ago my life was saved by surgeons at VCU Hospital, not long after a dying 26 year old friend received a new heart. I’ve lived in Richmond since 1976 with a vague awareness of some of this horrible history.The death of Bruce Tucker was unknown until I read the book. I’m unsurprised at the ongoing lack of greater acknowledgment of the callous treatment of so many human beings of color. JD Jackson is an excellent narrator.