The Wildcat caught up with biology freshman Avram Estes answering questions about organ donations on the UA Mall.

Wildcat: Hi, you’re on the spot. So what kind of organs can you donate? Do they have to be antiques, or can they be new?

Avram Estes: They can be new, they can be used. We take any organs you can get as long as you don’t have AIDS or active cancer.

W: What if I got it from a

thrift store?

E: You can’t get them from

thrift stores.

W: Where do you get them?

E: What happens is, after you pass away, people from the Arizona Organ Donation come and talk to the family.

W: What if I really like it? It cost me a lot of money.

E: It actually doesn’t cost you anything. It’s free of charge.

W: Well, just to buy it.

E: You can’t buy them.

(His partner): The sale of human organs is illegal in the United States.

W: Oh, well I’m not talking about human organs, I’m talking about wood organs or…

E: No, I think you’re misunderstanding the purpose of the club. We’re registering people for post-mortem organ and tissue donating. Human body organs, not musical organs.

W: Ohhhh, I thought it was like a musicianthing. I thought it was better understanding music; music education.

E: Uh, uh, no. No.

W: I have another question then. Can I donate them now, or do I have to wait?

E: You have to wait until you pass away. It’s post-mortem.

W: How am I going to know if it goes to a good home?

E: They have a list and there are people on the list that are waiting for it, so whoever’s at the top of the list.

W: What if I’m impatient?

E: No.

W: So what kind of organs can you donate?

E: We actually have a list right here of all the organs you can donate, like the heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, that type of thing.

W: You can’t donate, uh, private organs?

E: No.

W: What if someone needs something like that, like if they got in a car accident or they want to be on one of those Discovery Health Channel shows?

E: Well, these are the kind of organs that have had successful transplants.

W: Oh, I think actually the one I saw was they took the piece of the skin and fashioned it into a…

E: Yeah, that’s what they do, that’s skin grafts.

W: So if I wanted my skin to go for a man’s penis, could I do that?

(His partner): I don’t think you’re understanding the purpose of our organization.

(A brown dog runs over and takes a crap on the grass.)

W: Oh man. That one just wanted to give you part of his body! If you had to cut off one of your limbs to give to someone else and you could still survive…

E: It’s not that kind of thing. It’s post-mortem and they don’t take any limbs or anything.

W: Ok, I think I get it.

-Andi Berlin