L.A. Coroner’s Sale of Corneas

Re “Harvest of Corneas at Morgue Questioned,” Nov. 2: God forbid that any of the individuals who objected, and would have refused to let corneas (let alone other needed organs) be removed by the coroner, ever need one or more of these organs for themselves or a loved one!

I have a dear friend who was going to have to go on disability (maybe welfare too) because she needed two corneas. She now has 20/20 vision because of the cornea transplants she received at Doheny Eye & Tissue Transplant Bank.

You should be printing more on the need for and shortage of organ donors, instead of attacking the coroner’s office and Doheny. That law should not be dumped. There should be more laws like it.

CARMELITA MacPHERSON-HALTON

Alhambra

* As a shirttail uncle of one of the victims pictured in your article, I can’t begin to express my rage and disgust with the minions of the L.A. County coroner’s office, who added $1.4 million to their budget over the past five years by peddling corneas from deceased citizens to Doheny Eye & Tissue Transplant Bank and Tissue Banks International.

What kind of oversight responsibility has the elected Board of Supervisors demonstrated over the activities of the coroner’s office that could even begin to allow these ghouls to, for practical purposes, take over the operations of their office and generate 1,400% markups behind the backs of grieving relatives?

Once again, we find an otherwise supposedly well-intentioned group of bureaucrats with their eyes on lofty goals who have placed themselves beyond the bounds of decency and morality in the belief they know what’s better for all of us better than we do.

RUSH KOLEMAINE

Atascadero