ORGAN DONATION PROCEDURES CALLED BARBARIC

ORGAN DONATION PROCEDURES CALLED BARBARIC

MILTON-FREEWATER, Ore. (Wireless Flash) -- A retired funeral director in Oregon is spilling the beans about the way organs are harvested from funeral homes. Former funeral director Clarence Miller -- author of a new book, "Not Over My Dead Body: The Truth About Organ Donation" (Reed Publishing) -- claims some technicians who collect organs use barbaric procedures and tools -- including simple pruning shears, hammers and linoleum knives. Miller says organ removal operations in hospitals are perfectly dignified, but some technicians hired by organ banks are "body butchers" who laugh, eat food and leave carcasses looking "like a bloody heap of skin and bones." Meanwhile, Pam Silvestri of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations says Miller's claims are "highly unlikely" because if anyone were to use handyman tools to harvest organs, the organs wouldn't be in a condition acceptable for transplantation.