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In collaboration with the VCU Common Book program, VCU Libraries presents The Organ Thieves Film and Discussion Series. These discussions are meant to echo the themes of the Fall 2022 Common Book, The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South, and help students explore medical ethics, racial equity and how we discuss these controversial topics in modern society. Popcorn and drinks will be provided at each film event. The screenings and discussions are free and open to all.
September 14
James Branch Cabell Library Room 250
4 p.m.
“Transplanting Hope,” a film from the PBS series NOVA tells the story of modern American transplant patients. Every 10 minutes, a person in the U.S. is added to the waiting list for an organ transplant, joining more than 100,000 others. A dire shortage of organs means every opportunity for a transplant has to count. With extraordinary access to patients and transplant teams, NOVA takes the viewer inside the operating room to witness the emotional, high-stakes process of transferring organs from donors to recipients. The film and the discussion that follow will be hosted by Focused Inquiry professor Carver Weakley and Public Affairs Research Librarian Nia Rodgers
September 15
Larrick Student Center Courtend Ballroom
5 p.m.
The 2008 film “Hidden Heart: The Story of the First Human Heart Transplant, Hamilton Naki and Christiaan Barnard” details the history of the first human heart transplant (1967). The surgery was performed in Apartheid segregated South Africa. The film provides an intimate look at the lives of White South African Surgeon Christiaan Barnard and his Black South African assistant Hamilton Naki. The film screening will be followed by facilitated discussion with Professor and Chair of the Division of Transplantation Surgery, and Director of VCU Hume-Lee Transplant Center, Marlon Levy, M.D. Registration encouraged but not required.
Register Here.
September 20
James Branch Cabell Library Room 303
3 p.m.
Richmond Public Libraries, the Common Book Program, and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) present “Transplantation, Medical Ethics, and the Pursuit of Equity.” Gabe Thomas, VCU medical student, will interview Joel Newman (Senior Communications Strategist, UNOS) to discuss the social and medical history of transplantation and donation, with a focus on medical ethics and the ongoing pursuit of equity. This event will be held in-person and live-streamed. This event is free and open to the community.
September 28
James Branch Cabell Library Room 250
3 p.m.
Join members of the East Marshall Street Well Project Family Representative Council and moderator Nikki Fernandes for "Community Driven Research and the Ethical Treatment of Human Remains: Sampling the Ancestral Remains from the East Marshall Street Well Project." Panelists will discuss the process of and considerations taken into account when identifying the remains found in the East Marshall Street Well. Panelists include Rhonda Patricia Keyes Pleasants, chair of the Family Representative Council and Co-Chair of the Memorialization and Interment Implementation Committee, and Christopher Rashad Green, Dr. Tal Simmons, and Dr. Joseph Jones, members of the Family Representative Council. This event will be held in-person and live-streamed. This event is free and open to the community.
October 5
James Branch Cabell Library Room 303
3 p.m.
History and Health; Equitable Access to Care, and the Common Book Program, will host "Making Ethical Healthcare Decisions." This panel will discuss medical choices, including the role of healthcare providers and patients as well as religious, spiritual and cultural considerations. Join moderator Jason Callahan, Palliative Chaplain and Instructor, David Flemming, President & CEO of Donate Life, America, Dr. Danielle Noreika, Medical Director of Palliative Services, Amarachi Onyejekwe, student president of Black Men in Medicine, and Dr. Leslie Randall, Director, Gynecologic Oncology as they discuss ways to advocate on behalf of patients and be agents of change. This event will be held in-person and live-streamed. This event is free and open to the community.
October 19
James Branch Cabell Library Room 250
4 p.m.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein stars Kenneth Branaugh, Helena Bonham Carter, and Robert De Niro. This 1994 version tells the well-known story of Victor Frankenstein, a promising young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother during childbirth, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. His experiments lead to the creation of a creature that Frankenstein has put together from the remains of corpses. The film and the discussion that follow will be hosted by Focused Inquiry professor Carver Weakley and Public Affairs Research Librarian Nia Rodgers