Issue 86 - October 2008 - Page 4

Pages in this month's issue:

1. Burundanga Business Card Drug Warning
2. In-N-Out Burger Discounted Food Hoax
3. Fraud Transactions Warning Malware Email
4. Human Parts Factory Hoax
5. Free Fuel Offer From Shell Hoax
6. Virus Complaint Email Carries Malware
7. Miley Cyrus Death Hoax
8. Chinese Milk Contamination - Recalled Products Warning Email
9. Poverty Reduction And Eradication Advance Fee Scam
10. ATM Card Advance Fee Scam
11. Internet Rumour - UNESCO Chooses Indian National Anthem as Best In The World
12. American Airlines Loyalty Program Phishing Scam
13. Senator Collins Oil Spill Interview - The Front Fell Off
14. Online Quiz to Help Bihar Flood Victims
15. Internet Access Suspended Malware Email

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Summary:
Email claims that attached images show a "human parts processing factory" in Russia where human organs are harvested for transplants (Full commentary below).



Status:
False

Example:(Submitted, September 2008)


Commentary:
This email forward contains a series of quite horrific images that supposedly depict a human parts processing factory located in Russia. The message suggests that organs such as kidneys and corneas are harvested for future sale from human bodies collected from various sources and stockpiled in a macabre and chaotic factory environment for processing.

The exact origin of the images is so far unclear. However, what is clear is that the description that comes with the images is too fanciful and improbable to have any basis in fact. To be viable, organs need to be harvested very soon after the death of the donor. In fact, in most cases, organs are taken from donors who have been declared brain-dead. In such cases, mechanical ventilation and medication is used to keep the brain-dead donor's heart beating and blood circulating until organs can be collected. In "cardiac death" cases where it is determined that a donor patient cannot survive, the ventilator may be turned off and organs obtained immediately after the heart stops beating.

Some organs such as a kidney, liver or lung are donated by still living donors.

But, whatever the circumstances, in order to be viable, potential transplant organs absolutely must be collected by skilled medical practitioners in a sterile medical environment.

Thus, it is simply absurd to suggest that any viable organs could be harvested from human corpses that have been collected and then piled haphazardly in open rooms in a filthy factory. Human bodies, like those of other animals, will quickly begin to decay, so the "factory workers" depicted in the images would very soon be faced with a workplace filled with decaying corpses that are light years past the point of being useful for organ or tissue harvesting.

Certainly, illegal trafficking in human organs does occur. However, since profit from such ventures relies on the delivery of a useful product, organs are obtained from living or just-deceased donors using medically viable methods.

In any case, the "bodies" in the photographs look rather unrealistic. It is probable that they are simply props. Perhaps the images are stills from a horror movie. If you know the origin of these images, please let me know.

References:
Understanding Death Before Donation
Intersecting Human Rights Crises: Organ Transplantation and Organ Trafficking

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Pages in this month's issue:

1. Burundanga Business Card Drug Warning
2. In-N-Out Burger Discounted Food Hoax
3. Fraud Transactions Warning Malware Email
4. Human Parts Factory Hoax
5. Free Fuel Offer From Shell Hoax
6. Virus Complaint Email Carries Malware
7. Miley Cyrus Death Hoax
8. Chinese Milk Contamination - Recalled Products Warning Email
9. Poverty Reduction And Eradication Advance Fee Scam
10. ATM Card Advance Fee Scam
11. Internet Rumour - UNESCO Chooses Indian National Anthem as Best In The World
12. American Airlines Loyalty Program Phishing Scam
13. Senator Collins Oil Spill Interview - The Front Fell Off
14. Online Quiz to Help Bihar Flood Victims
15. Internet Access Suspended Malware Email