The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South

Explaining the racial tension at the time of MCV’s first heart transplant and the history of racism in Richmond, Virginia, Jones provides context for the theft of Bruce Tucker’s organs. He specifically describes the racism embedded in the origins and history of MCV. That racism was evident in the treatment of Bruce Tucker upon his admission to the hospital and in the cursory efforts to locate next of kin or communicate information about his condition to his brother.

At the time of Bruce Tucker’s accident in 1968, no African American judges served in Virginia’s courts, and juries often lacked African American members. Although landmark civil rights legislation had passed earlier in the decade, resistance to its implementation was widespread in the South. As an example, Jones describes how a burning cross was thrown into an African American citizen’s backyard in Richmond during this time. The first Black student was admitted to MCV in 1951. However, Blacks were not allowed to attend social events at MCV until 1962. The hospital remained segregated until 1962, relegating Black patients to St. Philip Hospital, where conditions were atrocious and rat infestations were common. However, the physicians at MCV considered St. Philip a good training ground for white medical students.

Given that Bruce Tucker’s organs were taken without next-of-kin consent, Jones delves into the early history of MCV. Founded in the days of slavery, MCV routinely stole African American corpses for experimentation and anatomical training. When the public complained about this practice, which also targeted white paupers, MCV simply said that it performed no dissections on white cadavers. This practice continued after abolition and into the early 20th century. After using cadavers in experiments, physicians in the 19th century dumped the bodies in a dried-up well. In 1994, the remains of those individuals were uncovered during a construction project. Even at that late date, the institution’s president gave archeologists only a few days to gather what remains they could and then resumed construction. Not until 2018 was a ceremony held in honor of those individuals whose graves were desecrated and whose bodies were dissected and discarded.

In light of this history, African American citizens feared MCV well into the 20th century. When Bruce Tucker was admitted to the emergency department in 1968 with alcohol on his breath, he immediately became the subject of racial profiling. Instead of viewing him as a hard-working man who had enjoyed a few drinks with friends at the end of the week, he was tagged as a drunk. Jones holds that Tucker was socially dead to the hospital staff. MCV’s efforts to find his next of kin were cursory. The staff overlooked that upon admission to the hospital, Tucker was carrying his brother William’s business card. William called the hospital three times inquiring about his brother’s status but was not given any information, and the surgeons did not check with reception about any inquiries. When William arrived at the hospital, he was treated disrespectfully. He was told Bruce had died but was not informed that Bruce’s organs had been taken. Only when the mortician told him that organs were missing did he have any idea. Jones notes that not only did the Tucker family never receive an apology from the institution, but the medical school’s communications and records never acknowledged Bruce’s contribution to the transplant program.