Persistent
and false urban myths and hoaxes circulating on the Internet are gaining
new life, with pranksters posting new material about everything from stolen
kidneys sold on the black market to human flesh from organ donors sold
for human consumption.
One of the longest
running myths has been the yarn about the traveler who shares a drink in
a bar with a stranger and awakes to find himself in a bathtub of ice missing
a kidney.
This urban legend
is often told from someone’s “personal experience” or a friend of
a friend, and often set in popular destinations such as Houston, New Orleans,
or Las Vegas.
Police in all
three localities say the claim is an absolute hoax (City of New Orleans
Police Department).
This myth has
popped up on numerous sites across the Internet, and has been circulated
via e-mail messages. Some folklorists claim the roots of this story date
back centuries, but it has been told in a transplant setting for at least
10 years.
If you get inquiries
about this urban myth, please note that there is absolutely no documented
evidence of such activity ever occurring in the U.S. or any other industrialized
country.
While the tale
sounds credible enough to many (even some health professionals), it holds
no truth.
Misinformation
and rumors surrounding transplantation and the process of organ donation
and allocation can put a damper on future donations, say the experts. For
more information visit a list of the top 10 myths about donation.
Internet stories
and e-mails continue to circulate in many ways, by word of mouth and even
as television and film dramas. These all have a potentially harmful impact
on the public’s perception of the medical community and organ donation.
If you think
you’ve heard an urban legend or received a suspicious e-mail, don’t repeat
it and don’t send it along. You might check if it is listed at one of the
following web sites. The Urban Legend Combat Kit site has messages which
visitors can use to cut and paste to send back to those who have unknowingly
forwarded urban legends via e-mail.
If you have
questions, contact the UNOS News Bureau at 804-327-1432.
--
Information Provided By
UNOS.org
--
|
