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Common Book: Organ Thieves

“The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South,” is VCU's 2022 Common Book.

VCU's Common Book

Learn more about the VCU Common Book program and events on campus.

Copies in VCU Libraries
Copies of The Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South are available at the Cabell Library on the Monroe Park Campus and the Health Sciences Library on the MCV Campus.

Book Review from The Washington Post:
“Journalist Chip Jones tells a gruesome story….The disregard for Black lives The Organ Thieves documents makes it an urgently modern warning.”

Use the tabs on the left of this guide to learn more about VCU's Common Book

Common Book Film Series

In collaboration with the VCU Common Book program, VCU Libraries presents The Organ Thieves Film Series. These screenings and discussions echo the themes of the Fall 2022 Common Book 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 event. One event includes dinner. The screenings are free and open to all. See the line-up and dates at the link below.

Accessing, Navigating, and Downloading the Organ Thieves Ebook

Accessing the Organ Thieves Ebook

Please note the VCU Libraries license allows for only three concurrent users. 

  • Search for "Organ Thieves: The Shocking Story of the First Heart Transplant in the Segregated South"

  • Click the green "Access Online" link below the book's title

Navigating to a Particular Section within the Ebook

  • Go to a particular chapter by clicking the chapter title on the central portion of your screen

  • While reading, advance from page to page by clicking the blue navigation arrows  at the bottom of your screen

Downloading Parts of the Ebook to Read Offline

  • Click the gray Save Pageslink at the top of your screen

  • Provide the range of pages you'd like to download

  • Click the yellow "Save PDF" link

  • NOTE: while the ebook platform indicates a maximum of 100 pages may be downloaded/printed, the ebook platform's method of counting pages differs from the page counts used in the book. Downloading/printing the cover and the next 99 pages will include the full text through the end of the Afterword. To download/print the remaining pages (the Notes and About the Author sections), close the ebook browser tab, then access the ebook again using the above instructions and download/print the remaining pages.