Kidney pie, Boston style

As hopefully the last trip of the summer, I was in Boston for a conference on organ transplantation. There's a lot of stuff that can be transplanted. Even faces! I didn't do much in Boston this time since I've been there quite a few times now. I did manage to go to the Aquarium twice because of a big shin dig put on by a pharaceutical company, and then with my boss. I like the aquarium though. Fish are cool.

The meeting was innundated with Falun Gong protestors though. My gawd they were everywhere stuffing pamphlets in my face. It's interesting watching them look at me and try to guess if they should hand me the english or chinese versions. They were there to protest the Chinese goverment use of Falun Gong prisoners' organs. Killing them and harvesting organs. I suppose they're basically political prisoners in China, jailed for their beliefs, or so the story goes. I'm not sure what they expect me to do about it. First of all, I don't need convincing. I'm sure it's happening. It wouldn't surprise me at all that their claims of horror are true. But let's take it in context here. To use prisoners' organs for transplantation is a cultural difference. It's justified by the argument that they're gonna die anyway and it's a way they can do one good deed. Whether or not we think that's okay or not doesn't matter. It's cultural. Just like in Spain, organ donation is an opt-out system where you donate unless otherwise explicitly expressed. It's just a cultural difference in terms of what's acceptable. The other thing that bothers me is that I'm sure all sorts of prisoners get their organs taken, not just the Falun Gong. What makes them think their organs are particularly targeted? I'm sure the Chinese goverment dislikes their prisoners equally. Whether or not Falun Gong should be prisoners is another issue entirely, and totally on deaf ears for the audience at a transplant meeting.

I hate in your face protestors. It just pisses me off and want to eat their livers with fava beans.