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Organ donor show will go on
30/05/2007 09:21 - (SA)
The Hague - The Dutch channel behind a reality TV show in which an organ donor must choose one of three candidates to receive her kidney has promised to broadcast it on Friday, despite the ruckus it has caused.
Lawmakers in the Dutch parliament have called for The Big Donorshow to be scrapped on ethical grounds, but the channel insists it will press ahead with the scheduled broadcast to highlight the serious lack of organ donors.
Laurens Dillich, the head of public service broadcaster BNN, told public radio: "The chances of the candidates obtaining a kidney are 33%, far better than for those on organ waiting lists.
"You would imagine that (waiting times) have improved, but they are getting longer."
BNN, a channel aimed at young people, is screening the show on the fifth anniversary of the death of its founder, Bart de Graaff. He died after waiting seven years for a kidney donation.
'In pretty bad taste'
The project has prompted condemnation across the Netherlands and beyond.
In Brussels, a spokesperson for the European Commission - which on Wednesday was due to make proposals on how to reduce organ donor waiting lists - said it was in "pretty bad taste".
For its part, the Dutch Kidney Foundation welcomed the attention BNN had brought on the subject, but noted that "their way of doing it is not ours, and it will bring no practical solution".
This is not the first time BNN has courted controversy. Previous broadcasts include Sex, a user's guide, a series of no-holds-barred education programmes, and Shoot up and swallow, a series dedicated to sex and drugs.
The Big Donorshow was dreamt up by Endemol, the Dutch production company behind Big Brother and other reality television shows.
It focuses on Lisa, a 37-year-old woman dying of a brain tumour. She must decide which of three patients selected by the producers, aged between 18 and 40, should receive her kidney. Viewers can offer their opinions by SMS text message.
In the Netherlands, organ transplants are subject to strict laws, which prohibit donors from choosing who will receive their organs after their death.
However, an exemption is made in the case of kidney transplants, which can be carried out while the donor is still alive, allowing the donor to choose the beneficiary if there is some link between the two people.
- AFP
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