I would like to refer to Adrian Muscat Inglott’s article under the headline “Do not accept anything from strangers” (TMIS, 17 May). In this article, he tells us the story of the “theft” of someone’s kidneys after a night of heavy drinking and he argues that this happens on a regular basis.

When I saw this article, I quickly checked the date of your paper. It wasn’t 1 April and therefore it was no joke. This story has appeared, worldwide, on and off over the last 20 years. Each time it shows up, it gets more and more embellished and while the additions should lead to less credibility, they actually lead to more people believing the story.

What we have here is an urban myth. The writer gives no proof, as far as the truth of the story is concerned, except that he asks us to believe him. It would be good if the writer of such column did some basic investigative work prior to writing such a story. For starters, he could have checked out the National Kidney Foundation’s website. Just type “urban myth” in their search-site and all will be revealed. There are also various websites that specialise in urban myths. All of them mention this story in one form or another.

A column writer has an important role to fulfil. Whereas a reporter simply gives the news, a column writer’s role is to inform his readers truthfully and with accuracy as he gives them something more than the plain news. In some ways, he is their teacher. It is, therefore, his duty to be well informed prior to releasing his story. Clearly, on this occasion, he was not. If only he had asked himself some basic questions, he might have realised that the story is just too incredible to be acceptable for publication as truth.

Paul Lantsoght

Bruges

BELGIUM