Beech Tree News Network

     Last year, one of our friends fell out of a deer stand and messed up his hand and arm to the point that he had to have a bone transplant.  The surgeon used a cadaver bone for the transplant.  On Saturday, he told us about the surgery.  I was fascinated by the process and the prospect of living with another person’s bones in my body.

          According to dailymail.co.uk, skin, bones and tissue from dead humans is big business.  The US by far is the biggest market and the biggest supplier, with over two million products from human tissue sold every year. 

          Like most people, I am aware of organ transplants, like kidneys and hearts, and even cornea transplants that help the blind see again, but I had no idea human skin tissue was used to treat burn victims or that human tendons and ligaments are recycled to help injured athletes continue sports careers. 

          When I signed my organ-donor card, I didn’t realize how many of my body parts could potentially be used to rejuvenate other human beings.  I might need to add a few disclaimers to the card, like: you do not want my knee joints, they’re pretty much shot; and if you use my corneas, you’ll definitely need bifocals; and if modern science arrives at the place where they can transplant my hair follicles, go ahead and buy a case of really good conditioner, cause you’re going to need it.

          At one time in his life, my husband, Garey, refused to sign an organ donor card, because he was convinced there might come a time when an unscrupulous doctor or EMT would not make the effort to revive him if they had a friend or relative waiting for a kidney or a cornea.  He has mellowed in his older years, however, and has signed a donor card.  (One of the most touching conversations Garey and I ever had was when his mom, Aggie, lost the sight in her left eye.  Garey told me if he passed before Aggie did, he wanted to make sure his mom received one of his corneas for a transplant.)

          Although transplanting organs and bones is common medical practice in our country, there are cultures that believe human remains are sacred, even spiritual.  According to strangeremains.com, there are cultures that believe human bones “retain the physical and spiritual essence of the deceased,” and these same bones carry within them supernatural powers for good luck and protection.  Bones from the dead are carved into jewelry, cups, musical instruments, and even weapons.  Hindu monks recover skulls from deceased bodies pulled from the Ganges River.  They carve elaborate designs into the skulls then use them as ritual cups in Hindu Tantric ceremonies.

          In the book of Ezekiel (chapter 37), the prophet has a vision of a valley of dry bones.  “The hand of the Lord was upon me…and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones…and lo, they were very dry.”  Ezekiel goes on to tell how the spirit of God entered the bones, and “there was a noise and behold a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone…sinews were on them, and

flesh grew and skin covered them.”  Further down in the chapter, God gives the prophet the interpretation for this vision: “…these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold they say, our bones are dried up and our hope has perished.  Thus says the Lord God...I will open your graves…and I will put My Spirit within you, and you will come to life.”

          Ezekiel’s vision was a metaphor in which the Spirit of God breathed life and hope into a situation that seemed hopeless.  In our age, the dead bones coming to life is a reality.  There are those among us who are literally experiencing what the prophet saw in his vision, “…sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them.”  The human body’s ability to rejuvenate is amazing.  The God who created it, even more so.