When Chinquinho Scarpa, a 62-year-old Brazilian millionaire, announced he'd be burying his 2013 Bentley Continental Flying Spur all hell broke loose. Now, my 2015 Honda Crosstour is no Bentley, but I sure as heck will not be burying it anytime soon. Scarpa however, who has a slightly larger disposable income than I do, made plans to bury his luxury sports car in September 2013.
Scarpa, one of the wealthiest men in Brazil, said that he was preserving his beloved, $200,000+ Bentley so that he could drive it in the afterlife. He announced his plans and even posted pictures online of the grave he had dug for the car. Immediately an overwhelming number of replies flooded social media. Many called Scarpa selfish, wasteful, and just plain stupid. With all the needy, low-income people in this world, it was irresponsible for him to bury such an asset and let it become useless. The day had come for the grandiose burial and to everyone's surprise, the Bentley was not buried.
That's right, the burial of the lavish and expensive sports car was a hoax. Scarpa arrived at the burial and announced that this was all a stunt aimed at promoting organ donation. Scarpa argues that society publicly and unanimously berated him for burying a $200,000 sports car, yet no one criticizes the hundreds of bodies that go underground every day with all of their valuable and salvageable organs still intact.
There are many myths about organ donation that keep people from registering as donors. People fear that they won't be able to have an open-casket funeral or that their families will be charged for the procedures, both of which are not true. Organ donation is a highly regulated and careful process. Organs are harvested only after doctors have properly ensured the patient has passed and verify that he or she is a donor. Organs, including skin and bones, can be donated with almost no visual evidence even at an open-casket viewing. Families are not charged for any procedures that occur after a patient has passed. Organs can be donated from young and old patients alike, and even from those that are not in prime health. The only way to know if your organs could potentially save the lives of numerous ill patients is to become an organ donor. Hundreds of thousands of people criticized Scarpa for burying his car, with an approximate net worth of over $200,000, yet only about 40 percent of eligible U.S. citizens are registered organ donors, resulting in countless, invaluable organs being buried every day.
Save a life, become a donor.
