© Konstantin Chernichkin/Kyiv Post
“Two ribs, two Achilles heels, two elbows, two eardrums, two teeth, and so on'' ... a relative holds a picture of Oleksandr Frolov, some of whose body parts were found during a raid by Ukrainian authorities.
A grisly trade in human body parts leaves relatives grieving and some recipients at risk of life-threatening disease.
On February 24, Ukrainian authorities made an alarming discovery: bones and other human tissues crammed into coolers in a grimy white minibus.
Investigators grew even more intrigued when they found, amid the body parts, envelopes stuffed with cash and autopsy results written in English.
What the security service had disrupted was not the work of a serial killer but part of an international pipeline of ingredients for medical and dental products that are routinely implanted into people around the world.
The seized documents suggested that the remains of dead Ukrainians were destined for a factory in Germany belonging to the subsidiary of a US medical products company, Florida-based RTI Biologics.
RTI is one of a growing industry of companies that make profits by turning mortal remains into everything from dental implants to bladder slings to wrinkle cures. The industry has flourished even as its practices have roused concerns about how tissues are obtained and how well grieving families and transplant patients are informed about the realities and risks of the business.
Comment: PTSD is a huge epidemic, but far from being committed to helping support returning vets, the governments have been accused of making mental health care virtually unavailable to thousands of discharged soldiers through perfunctory exams, delays in referrals and treatment, and a prolonged and complex system of awarding medical benefits. Because the truth is that the psychopaths in power really don't care what happens to the vets or any of the rest of us:
This is how the U.S. supports its troops: Judge rules court won't step in to aid vets
Underestimation: A Third Of Gulf War Veterans Have Mental Health Difficulties