The Most Dangerous Hospital Stay In History

open heart surgery
Leslie Grover-Taylor
November 13, 2024

During a celebration at work, Bruce Tucker enjoyed a few adult beverages. When he was brought to the hospital after the accident, white doctors noticed the alcohol on his breath and listed him as an alcoholic. But there was a huge problem.

They never took the time to verify who he was, even though he had his business card IN HIS WALLET. But they refused to find out his real name. The doctors were eager to become famous as the first white doctors to transplant a heart successfully. So, while Tucker’s heart was still beating, they extracted it and put it into a prominent white businessman. They took other organs, too.

The thieves never notified Tucker's family of their actions, and Tucker’s loved ones were lied to. But karma didn’t let them hide their wrongdoing. The liars were exposed.

The funeral home preparing Tucker’s body discovered his missing organs. The family sued and won. In 2022,  Virginia refused to apologize to  Black families for violating Black bodies. However, Virginia Commonwealth College – whose white medical students used those bodies – did.

Our bodies are still considered a disposable commodity in this anti-Black society, often exploited and hated in life and harvested after death. How would a world look like where we are honored and safe in body and spirit?

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