A fascinating post by Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter
Erica E. Phillips, “Auction of Reagan Blood Vial Canceled” fascinated me!
As the story goes, apparently after the assassination attempt
on the President in 1981, blood was taken to ensure no lead landed there and
one vial landed in the hands of what the WSJ calls “the owner.” How mysterious!
The “owner” who shall remain nameless I guess convinced PFC
Auctions to hold an online auction where the bidding started at $2,400 and was
up to over $30,000 when PFC Auctions pulled the gavel so to speak.
It seems, and rightly so, the Reagan family opposed the
auction. Now, “the owner” has agreed to donate the vial of blood to the Ronald
Reagan Presidential Foundation—which is essentially a museum that attracts
hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.
“The owner” even offered “documentation from the Maryland
laboratory identifying the blood as Mr. Reagan’s” according to the WSJ post.
If you’re really interested in the gory detail of the
auction listing—you can find it here.
By the by if you click on this link—I’m embarrassed to know you.
Who Would Want This?
Other than Billy Bob Thornton and a once weird Angelina
Jolie, who would want this blood? I know there are auctions for all sorts of
things connected to celebrities and famous people but blood? Hmm?
To me, when I first read the story, I imagined a sort of “Renfield”
(Dracula) character holding the vial—sinister look and all, and the official document
in his other hand as he denies eating bugs to Dr. Steward.
There is no way I would want a vial of anyone’s blood. My
father passed away in 1982 and I have his fishing hat, his wallet and few Army mementos
but his blood? No thanks, I’ll pass. (Not that he was famous but in my heart he
was).
HIPPA
HIPPA, or the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 focuses on the privacy and security of one’s
individual health information. So, if I were famous and needed blood drawn for
my doctor and instead of two vials, the lab tech took three and attempted to
sell one, doesn’t this violate HIPPA laws?
I guess since the Reagan’s blood was taken in 1981, prior to
HIPPA, the vial of blood was fair game.
Still, I’m glad the Reagan family hung in there and had the
auction stopped. No one individual should benefit from anything from a past
President of the United States (unless he or she is a relative and given a memento.)
I can imagine the winner of the auction heading off to Las
Vegas to be on the TV show Pawn Stars
and trying to sell the blood to “The Old Man.” I can only imagine the
conversation!
The Old Man: “He was one of our greatest Presidents!”
Chumlee: “Didn’t he tear down the wall in China all by himself?”
The Old Man: “You’re an idiot Chumlee.”
And, the haggling would begin. There’d be an expert to ensure
the blood was real and they’d check the authenticity of the “document” from the
Maryland lab and if all seemed Kosher, The Old Man would indeed have probably
bought the blood. I mean as far as the WSJ could find—it wasn’t illegal to sell
the blood, just a nasty thing to do.
It does give one pause, however.
If you’re getting your blood drawn today, I’d ask how many
vials they needed and get a “document” saying what was going to be done with
all the blood and if any was left, I’d want another “document” saying it was
destroyed or thrown away.
Oh, what folks will do for money these days? But if you want
to place a bid on Ronald Reagan’s vial of blood—forget about it—the auction as
they say; has ended.
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