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The Big Donor Show
A 37-year-old woman suffering from an inoperable brain tumor wants to donate a kidney before she dies and will choose the recipient from among three contestants on Dutch national television, a TV network said Tuesday, claiming it wants to highlight a crisis in organ donations.
From CNN. Hat tip to Ed Lopez at Division of Labor.
Posted by Alex Tabarrok on May 30, 2007 at 07:02 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink
Comments
Reality TV deciding life or death now? A contestant must say why his/her life is more valuable than the others? Despicable.
I could think of many other ways to highlight the organ donations crisis, to say they are performing a public service is vile rubbish, it's all about making money.
Posted by: adrian at May 30, 2007 7:26:24 AM
This TV-Show merely tells us relentlessly that under the conditions of organ shortage the decision who gets the organ is arbitrarily anyway. No physician behind closed doors would make a more moral decision. Thats the message for me. And I hope for others too.
Posted by: SteffenH at May 30, 2007 7:45:11 AM
One not unimportant detail you forget, Tyler: people watching the show can vote by sms who of the children (indeed, the contestants are children) will receive the kidney.
Posted by: Jean Marie Wildeboer Schut at May 30, 2007 9:14:18 AM
The PUBLIC decides? F**king hell, this is amoral insanity.
Posted by: adrian at May 30, 2007 9:43:19 AM
Last week I voted on whether or not to approve a 4% increase in my localities' school budget.
I'm guessing that, if I watched the show, I'd be better qualified to chose the kidney recipient than I was, when I pulled the lever, to know whether my tax dollars were being put to optimal use by the school district.
Posted by: Rich B. at May 30, 2007 9:46:19 AM
Point from the Netherlands: as far as I can tell, the public cannot vote on who gets the kidney, but can send advice to the donating person, who gets to choose for herself. Also, it is broadcast by a kind of public television organization, without profit intention (however, the attention it generates can help the organization).
The point they want to make is indeed that the chance of getting a kidney this way is larger than through the normal channels. I'm not sure how the donation situation in the Netherlands compares to America, but the number of organ donors is currently too low for the medical needs. So there is a political debate whether we should swith from a 'you are not a donor unless registered as such' to a 'donor unless registered you are not' system, but there is little chance this will happen. Another thing is that currently families of the donor often have to agree with the donation, and when they are in doubt (after the donor has died, usually unexpected) they tend to say 'no'. So another proposal is to leave this decision entirely to the donors ( by registration), and leave families out of the loop.
You could say that the show aims at the persons who do not object to being a donor, but have never taken the trouble to register themselves as such. By showing the consequences of the current situation, it might encourage people to register.
The main voices against this show come from conservative christians and other people who oppose donation in general, but they were not going to register anyway, so that hardly matters.
Posted by: Marius at May 30, 2007 10:51:58 AM
Instead of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" we get "Who Wants to Live Long Enought to Grow Up?"
Nope, this isn't a broken system.
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Posted by: sadfasdf at May 30, 2007 12:30:10 PM
This certainly has a horribly casual air about it, for such a tragic situation. But it graphically illustrates the organ shortages we all know to be common, but mostly unseen... (and mostly unnecessary!)
And the previous commenter's note that he votes at a polling both with less useful info than a viewer will have after watching this show... is quite telling, is it not?
Posted by: Dave Meleney at May 30, 2007 1:11:22 PM
I thought people were joking when I first heard about this. Then I saw this report: http://www.thenewsroom.com/details/350936/All+Categories?c=20191. This is really going too far.
Posted by: fred at May 30, 2007 4:44:40 PM
Adrian, if your faith in the public's decision is so low, why are you so concerned about which stranger on a different continent is chosen? Are sick children inherently more important than television viewers? If they get the kidney and live a normal life, won't they turn into the same worthless amoral people?
You seem to be overly concerned with individuals that you don't know for someone who barely acknowledges the humanity of a larger group of people.
Posted by: Richard at May 30, 2007 11:00:10 PM
"This certainly has a horribly casual air about it."
The late founder of the television channel was a young kidney-patient himself and he was known for his in-your-face television. The channel often uses "shock-value" to attract attention to moral issues concerning disease and death.
The taste may seem crass to non-Dutch but it might raise some awareness.
Posted by: ralph ruben emmers at May 31, 2007 3:09:33 AM
The people who are outraged about this, seem to me, to be the same kind of people who get outraged about cock-fighting or bull-fighting, but enjoy a good chicken dinner or steak. Of course, the animals in the industrial farming process suffer far more than the fighting bulls or the fighting chickens... we don't really have a problem with animals suffering for our enjoyment, we just don't want to face the reality of it.
Likewise, people desperatly competing and groveling to get an organ, with most of them going to die, is the everyday reality... it just happens behind closed doors. "Letting the people decide" happens too, because it is a government agency (of a presumably democratic government), that runs the show. You aren't outraged because of the show, you are outraged because the show is revealing a part of your reality that you are uncomfortable with.
Posted by: Rex Rhino at May 31, 2007 3:34:49 PM
I respect that lady's feelings but having a show like this to decide for who will get that kidney is somehow torchring for the kids who are in the queue of fighting for it..
Posted by: Offshore Software Product Testing at Jun 1, 2007 5:13:13 AM
Well i think the kid who neds the kidney most urgently hsould be given that thingh
Y having a contest for that.
Posted by: Outsourced Product Development Center at Jun 1, 2007 5:31:18 AM
This is a wonderful work towards the society and humanity.Such shows spread
awareness for donating organs to those who can live life with it after you.
Posted by: Smart Card Development Solutions Consultancy at Jun 1, 2007 5:34:59 AM
The Broadcasting Station BNN is young and progressive. The Ducth are ahead of discussion in contrast with other countries. And this is the way the young Ducth society handels problems in a modern way. They don't hold back and face the problem as it is. I think this is an unorthodox way to handle the donation shortage but the next generation of people is not orthodox, so older people will have to keep up with the youth
Posted by: Niels M. B. at Jun 1, 2007 10:24:05 AM
It's hard to decide whether this is simply tasteless or something worse!
I can't believe it. Simply can't believe it!
As I put on my site, this wins my "most tasteless thing I've ever heard" award.
~Chani
Posted by: Chani at Jun 1, 2007 11:40:21 AM
The donor show was a HOAX,
"However, at the last minute the programme's producers revealed on air that the woman starring on the reality show was an actress.
But the contestants trying to win the kidneys are genuine and are still in need of organs."
greetz,
ron zijlemans
holland
Posted by: ron zijlemans at Jun 1, 2007 4:38:32 PM
Yep! it's bogus. (I had my doubts about it... reminded me too much of some of the over the top media stunts pulled by the Yes Men.)
Posted by: culturekiosque at Jun 2, 2007 2:02:06 AM
This show was absolutely disgusting.
regards
www.isis-ic.de
Posted by: isis ic at Jun 2, 2007 5:01:26 AM
To all people who had comments: Who of you is a donor? Does anyone who had comments donate organs if needed?
Stephan
Posted by: Stephan Stoutjesdijk (Holland) at Jun 2, 2007 8:21:18 AM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA..............
THE DUTCH DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE TRICKED THE WORLD FOR A GOOD CAUSE!!!!!!
BECOME A DONOR AND HELP YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN NEED!!!!!!
HUP HOLLAND HUP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Dutch Jan at Jun 2, 2007 9:46:18 AM
This isn't just about donating organs or not, but about morality in general. Just because "donation situation" sux, it doesn't mean it should be promoted as such. The message they're sending with this is "if you want to live, then fight for it". Well, that's the difference between "cocks & bulls" and humans. We're not valued by the size of our beaks and horns.
Posted by: Mateja at Jun 2, 2007 11:00:18 AM
Amsterdam juni 2nd
blablabla Mateja! There are people all over the world who are dying because of the shortage of kidneys! There have been many efforts to convince people to donate their organs, but that didn't lead to more donors. Now it is on the Dutch and European political agenda (maybe even on the world agenda). Today many people became donor and that what it's all about! People can go on with their lives and that is what counts the most! Do you know what I call immoral?? Healthy people who pass away and don't donate their healthy organs, because of the reason they have never thought about donating (you don't have to donate, it still remains your own choice). As we say in Holland: this aim sanctifies the resources. The message isn't that people have to fight for their lives. NO not at all. The message is that donors can help other people. We can help each other! The woman is owner of her own organs and have the right to choose what to do with them! We can't prevent that right according to the dutch constitution. And that is something we shouldn't want to do. It is only legal to limit someone right if he/she harm other people, but the person in case doesn't harm anyone, she only help other people. It's a pitty for the other contestants, but thats'life! They got nothing to loose! And we all got nothing to loose by broadcasting this program!
Posted by: Bart de Graaff at Jun 2, 2007 1:12:10 PM
