The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South

In May 1968, L. Douglas Wilder, an African American attorney, received a call from William Tucker, whose brother Bruce had recently died on an operating table at MCV following a head trauma. The mortician later told William that his brother’s heart and kidneys were missing. Wilder agreed to represent William Tucker and find out what happened at the hospital.

Many questions arose. Bruce had been transferred from the main hospital to St. Philip, a second-rate facility designated for Black patients. No one informed his brother that he was close to death or explained why heart surgery was performed. At the time, Richmond had no Black judges, and Black jurors were rare.

Wilder, the grandson of enslaved individuals, grew up in the segregated South. He had heard rumors about MCV and was told to stay away from it in his youth. The institution was powerful and had support from big business and government. Wilder noticed an article about the first heart transplant at MCV for a white businessman. It did not mention Bruce, who was the donor. Wilder knew that he was in for a tough fight.