By Ande Jacobson

Before Tess Gerritsen began writing her Rizzoli & Isles series, she wrote a number of medical thrillers. The first of these was Harvest, released in September 1996. Her experience as a physician leant itself to tell compelling stories surrounding medical situations, and it also raised her awareness of various societal crises based on manipulation of the healthcare system. Harvest combines a riveting thriller with a very real crisis situation surrounding organ transplants. In particular, the mystery in this story explores how the morbidly wealthy and the very greedy can sometimes work together to circumvent the need-based processes in place. In the real world, organ transplants are lifesaving. They can take a person from death’s door to restored health, but they come at a cost. For most organs, particularly things like hearts and lungs, they come available only when an organ donor dies. While a directed donation can be made in some cases, the general system in place to provide these precious organs is based on patient need. The more severe the need, the higher a patient’s priority on the recipient list. Their financial and social status is not taken into account, only their medical need is relevant. Unfortunately, there’s a rather robust black market that some very wealthy individuals turn to in order to jump the line. The market consists of profiteers who garner the services of some less than reputable physicians to harvest organs from donors that are sometimes “created” to supply these precious organs to those willing to pay. Sadly, some with the resources available would be willing to pay almost any price to save their loved ones denying those in greater need of their very lives. Of course, evaluating medical need can also be tricky, particularly when so few organs are available meaning that whoever doesn’t get a given organ may not live long enough for another compatible organ to come available the normal way. Continue reading →