Who Gets the Kidney?
May 30th, 2007 | 11 responses
That’s the question. In the Netherlands we have a new television show: De Grote Donor Show (The Big Donor Show). What’s the show about you ask? Well, quite simple: this Friday 37 year old Lisa will donate one of her kidneys… on television. Three people who need a new kidney will be there. They have to answer questions. After that, Lisa will decide who gets her kidney. The viewers have an active role as well: they can SMS (to advise Lisa probably).
There is a lot of debate going on about this show in the Netherlands. Some consider it a good thing: we do not have enough people who are willing to donate their organs (after they die). This ‘stunt’ or show, might make it easier for people to make the decision to donate their organs. However, there are also people who object, who find it tasteless. Members of Parliament have asked questions about the show, some want the government to ban it (it’s being broadcasted on a government-owned channel).
It is very sad that such a show is deemed necessary by so many people. It is very sad that not enough people have signed the paper, giving doctors permission to use one’s organs at the moment one dies. On the other hand, I do not for one second believe that this show will help solve this problem. It will give a boost to the network’s (BNN) ratings, but that is it. They will, I am afraid, not achieve much more than that. Besides that, I also find it to be incrediby tasteless and brutal. How about the ‘losers’?
More here.
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11 Responses to “Who Gets the Kidney?”
I personally think a show like this is tasteless, and worthless in promoting this cause. It makes it into a game, which I don’t think is something people can connect with. Only a select few get this experience, for the rest it is far from reality. Seems like the US has done a good job of exporting its ‘reality’ shows which are typically anything but reality.
There are a bunch of channels in the US that deal with health topics. Discovery health, TLC for example. I think if they really wanted to promote awareness it would be more effective to show the person donating, and everything that went behind the decision as why they should donate, and the whole process of the person receiving the donation, including the whole hell of the waiting list and finding a donor that matches. That I think would be something people can understand and connect with.
Umh. We exported reality shows I am afraid. Big Brother is created by a Dutchman: John de Mol.
MvdG I agree this is completely tasteless. My interest in the serious subject of organ/body donation is older than you. In Michigan partisan special interests corrupted even body donations to medical universities. Many moons ago Wayne Stae University had a station wagon that picked up cadavers for medical research and their crash sled. The morticians and funeral directors didn’t like the last free ride and enacted a law to get money for donations, the university cannot pick up a body. Only the “ghouls” at a funeral home are allowed, for a $300 fee. Brings back memories of 1970′s punk and the song “Gary Gilmore’s eyes”.
A big problem to organ donation lies in Christian mythos.
Can’t have resurrection if your body isn’t whole.
Disgusting, really. Can you imagine cheering for the winner, while the losers are told “tough, better luck in your next life, sucker”. Ugh, double ugh.
Happily, Spain is has the highest doner rate in the EU. Sadly, donations aren’t 100% of viable organs.
And here I thought Americans were the kings of poor taste TV.
I find this surprising in ‘culturally superior’ Europe.
Here is a CCAR Responsum, a Reform Jewish legal ruling on organ donation:
http://data.ccarnet.org/cgi-bin/respdisp.pl?file=2&year=5763
Here is a good source for a religious discussion. I was being a little snarky, it’s peoples misconceptions on their Christian beliefs that hinder donation. I believe the Jewish response is a little more enlightened.
http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/WeirdWildWeb/courses/thth/projects/thth_projects_2003_lewis/organ_donation.htm
Heh. I’ve long felt that the US popular culture is an embarrassment so I have the same guilty feeling reading about this as I do when I see a child misbehaving in public; that feeling of being glad that other parents are having to deal with the situation instead of me.
One can always opt-out of many aspects of popular culture – I have!
I think Ashen ought contact a producer immediately with his/her idea… “…if they really wanted to promote awareness… more effective to show the person donating… everything that went behind the decision, why…donate …whole process of person receiving donation, including whole hell of waiting list and finding a donor that matches…”
often enough, the drama of a thing can draw as many viewers as an exclusionary game show format. The game show element, however, is the audeience does not know til the end how it turns out. But done well, the former could work well …
Tx MvdG for bringing this topic up, it’s such a serious one… it could be that just such an outrageous show could accidentally raise people’s awareness
dr.e.
just addendum… surely they dont leave people who truly need a transplant to go home and die? surely they help them somehow, yes? Like ven behind the scenes, long after the show? or do the producers pay some pittance the hard-pressed family really needs right now? If so, that may be the ‘back story.’
dr.e