http://www.ksat.com/health/2339455/detail.html
Teen's Body Parts Returned To San Marcos Mortuary In Boxes Victim's Father: 'I Did Not Want Them Back' POSTED: 10:46 a.m. CDT July 17, 2003 AUSTIN, Texas -- Body parts of a San Marcos football player were returned to a mortuary in boxes after the American Red Cross and an eye bank could not guarantee to relatives that tissues would not be sold for profit. San Marcos High School football star Joshua Roberts died in a car wreck July 3 near Brady and his father was out of the country when his son's body parts were harvested. The player's heart, corneas and some of his bones were removed to be used for transplants. American Red Cross and Western Texas Lions Eye Bank Alliance officials said they could not guarantee that no profit would be made from Josh Roberts' tissues. Both entities sent them back to Thomason Funeral Home in San Marcos last week, where the 17-year-old's body was awaiting burial. Rick Roberts said his son's corneas were packed in a preserving solution, then shipped in a packing container. In a cooler filled with dry ice, Roberts found his son's femurs, kneecaps, hip bones and shoulder blades. His son's heart was in a jar. "He'd been deboned like a piece of sausage," Roberts told the Austin American-Statesman in Thursday's editions. "Then to send everything back to you and hold up the funeral while you wait, it's unbelievable. I did not want them back. I emphatically said plenty of times that you can have those body parts if you will just give them to people." The Red Cross, which provides nearly one-fifth of the tissue used for transplants nationwide, said it took the unusual step of returning the body parts because that's what the elder Roberts wanted. "The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that operates on a cost recovery basis," officials said in a statement. "However, we work with hospitals and physicians who charge for their services. Therefore, the Red Cross could not ensure that any future procedures associated with this donation would be performed without charge. "Because we could not meet the father's request, and in the interest of sensitivity to the family, the Red Cross hand-delivered the donated tissue to the funeral home director for proper disposition." Spokeswoman Christine Pearson said Roberts' demand was unusual. "Most families' main concern is whether their loved ones' tissue will help save or improve the life of another person," Pearson said in an e-mail. The elder Roberts' sister had had a liver transplant that he said cost $300,000, and he felt strongly that no one should make money from transplanting body parts. Bob Noyes, president of the board that oversees the eye bank, said it was unreasonable to demand that all fees be waived by transplant organizations. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Your ad could be here. Monies from ads go to support these lists and provide more resources for the community. http://www.fusionauthority.com/ads.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
