STRANGE CONTRACTS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXXII, Issue 60, 8 May 1924, Page 2

STRANGE CONTRACTS

SALE OP SKIN ANI> EAlt.

A strange advertisement appcavei in a London newspaper recently. A man offered himself as willing to undergo any operation where (here was a "sporting outside chance of recovery." No one seems to Know ex actly what is the legal aspect o\' <...■ case. If such an offer were accepted, and the man died under ihoperation, it seems possible thai the operator might be indicted for manslaughter. It is, however a wellknown fact that both surgeons and patients are sometimes willing to pay large sums for suitable human subjects for medical experiment. The Wind American millionaire Mr C. ltouss once advertised for a man suffering from eye trouble similar to his own who would be willing to undergo a somewhat painful operation which might result in cure. Ho finally obtained a subject ("Answers" records) and retained him for some years at a salary of £250 a year. Several operations were performed upon the substitute, but all without the desired effect. So the millionaire at last gave up hope ,and resigned hfmsel fto a life of darkness. Five years ago Miss Emma Gallagher, a wealthy young woman, was terribly burned by the explosion of a spirit stove. Her chin, neck and chest were left almost raw. To conceal the scars the doctors performed twenty-three different operations in skin-grafting, the skin being taken from twenty-three different persons. The sum paid for other people's skill worked out about £2OO per square foot. An advertisement once appeared in a New York paper to the effect that a Western millionarie, who was about to be married, was prepared to pay a thousand pounds tor a right ear to be grafted upon his own head, in place of one wnich he had lost in a mining accident. An immence number of applications were received, and Dr Nalden, w'lo undertook the operation, selected a suitable candidate. A deed of ag-ee-ment was drawn up, and the phfsician agreed to keep the names of both buyer and seller secret. The operation was duly performed. The upper half of the volunteer's ear was cut away together with about four inches of skin at the. back of the *.ar, and grafted on the millionaire's head. The two men had to lie practically motionless until, after twelve days, the flesh had united, and the rest of the ear was cut away and grafted.