The Fifth Vial

Occassionally, when I travel, I will read some fiction books usually by one of the popular authors.  I just finished “The Fifth Vial” which I would recommend to anyone who enjoys medical fiction and spy type books.  But, it has a serious underlying story about illegal organ transplants which plays into many urban myth type stories you might hear.

“The organs and tissue donated by just one person can improve or save the lives of up to fifty others.”  Author’s Notes at the end of the book

The author (Michael Palmer) gives out a bunch of links at the end of the book on Organ Donation which is obviously a very serious topic.  Here are some of those:

• United Network for Organ Sharing
• US Department of Health and Human Services, Organ Donation Institute
• National Marrow Donor Program
• National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program
• New England Organ Bank
• Donate Life America
• American Kidney Fund
• American Lung Association
• American Liver Foundation
• American Organ Transplant Association
• Organs Watch