It seems many people don't understand what this show is about and how it will be done, so before someone posts some news link with only half the story, here's the deal.
Coming Friday, a network called BNN will air a show called "The Big Donor Show" in which a terminally ill patient named Lisa (37) will pick one kidney patient out of 3 "contestants" to whom she'll donate a kidney while still alive.
She will meet the 3 kidney patients, their friends and family, and in the coming months will decide who will get one of her kidneys.
The audience can send text messages to respond and to advise Lisa.
She decided to do this because of personal experiences in her family and after studies showed that over the last 5 years many people have either decided not to donate organs after they die, or that they haven't even thought about it.
It also showed that a lot of people who had filled out a card saying they DID want to donate ended up not donating, because their family overruled their decision.
Many, many people die on waiting lists, 5 years ago Bart de Graaff, founder and host of BNN died after a failed kidney transplant at the age of 35.
For years he was the face of kidney disease in The Netherlands and in those years donor card holders were up.
Lately they have plummeted and now BNN has decided to use this show to make people understand that no matter how weird and maybe unethical this show may be (their own words), these 3 people still have a bigger chance of getting a kidney than others on the waiting list, these people have a 33% chance.
The show was discussed in parliament this week, where the Christian parties tried to get the minister to ban the show, and luckily they failed.
I'm not saying I'm 100% behind this concept, but they wanted discussion, and now they have it.
What's your view on this?
Are you a donor?
If you're not, why not?
And if you're not and you would need a donor organ to save your life, would you accept it?

As for the questions.
I am not a donor.
I wouldnt be one because such an incident that happened a few months ago where a man woke up in a morgue because everyone thought he was dead. I am not taking such a risk where I'll have a kidney removed and I am not fully dead. That along with being burried alive are my worst fears. My moms got a donor card thank god at least. She's not as retardly fearful as I.

I think its disgraceful to show that on t.v. and have it labelled as "entertainment." People are played with lives for "fun." Have "fun" picking out the winning contestant that is going to live. Sick really. I have no problem with the woman picking, but that should be done privately because of the gravity of the situation. It demeans the fact potentially all of these people are going to die, donor and contestants except the one that wins.

Just sick.

There are other ways in highlighting the Netherlands low Donor card ownership, far more tasteful ways in campaigning.

it's sick, but it will probably help increase organ donations in the netherlands. so society is also sick. what's new?

i wonder about the usual criteria for selecting recipients such as who has the most medical necessity, and whether doctors can perform such an operation while observing their professional organisation's code of ethics

as a by the by, remember the uk family that said they'd donate their (deceased) relative's organs only if they went to a white recipient? taking the organs would have saved a life, perhaps, but would you do it?

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they made soup out of my research turtles.

Couldn't they have just done a documentary on the issue instead of turning it into a gameshow?
I'm a donor. They can have anything they want from me. They probably won't want the lungs though.

This is terrible. Donating organs is about the need of the patient not who begs and pays enough for them. I think it's sadistic to basically get people to beg to stay alive to this woman who will decide who has her kidney. On top of that they don't even know if her kidney will be a match for the 3 contestants involved anyway.

^^Of course they do know if the kidney is a match, they've selected the patients. (checked blood types etc.)
It was made public yesterday that they've all been on the waiting list for years, at the top of the list even.
They never got a kidney.
Over 1400 people are waiting for a kidney, while last year about 450 were available for transplantation.

And Walt, there have been many, many documentaries over the years, and they have about 0 effect.
The guy who is hosting this show also hosts a show called "If it should happen to you" (very loosely translated) in which he follows around young people with (rare) diseases.
He also made a program about terminally ill people and people like these kidney patients.
He filmed them for months, and even in some cases had too little time to interview them because they died.
Shows like these are good to watch, but seem to have 0 effect on Donor registration.

Another little tid bit, the EU is now talking about having a EU donor card in stead of one for your own country.
They want to get donor registration up, but have also said they will spend $/€0 on it.
Way to go!

I've had one for 11 years, since I was 16.
My thoughts: I'm dead, I don't need my organs anymore, so if they can help someone else out, take them and save some lives.
Although I wonder which ones are actually any good.
My doc told me that if you have a piercing/tattoo they won't use your skin for burn victims because there's foreign body/substance in it.
Weird huh?
I understand they wouldn't put my tattoos on someone's face, but why not use the 95% of my skin that's NOT tattood?

i'd just like an opt out, instead of an opt in, donation system. problem solved?

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they made soup out of my research turtles.

That's the weirdest thing, 2 years ago a bill like that was suggested to our government, and they voted against it.
But now that same government is outraged because of this show.
You can't have it both ways I think.
You can't on the one hand ignore and refuse to solve a problem, and at the same time get mad when someone else asks for attention for that same problem.
A lot of Dutchies feel the opt out solution is great (as do I), it's the Christian parties that stopped the bill. (having a "complete" body to get into heaven and what not, poor amputation/landmine victims are all going to hell I guess)
But I'd like to add another thing to that: if you won't donate, you also won't receive.
Because why would a Christian who refuses to donate because he/she wants to go to heaven want a donor kidney or liver?
Wouldn't that mean that for their salvation another person would have to go to hell?
So an opt out system with the addition of a won't donate-won't receive policy is a good solution I think.

where the fuck in the bible does it say shit like that? lots of christians get cremated. christians are so fucked up. and the idiots can opt out! i just think they're afraid of having their selfishness and screwed upness exposed by the opting out process

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they made soup out of my research turtles.

Show is a HOAX
its just been announced.
The patients are real but nobody is dying of a brain tumour.
A Dutch television show in which a woman would supposedly donate her kidney to one of three contestants was revealed as a hoax tonight.

At the last moment, presenters of the Big Donor Show said the woman was not actually dying of a brain tumour as they had claimed and the entire exercise was intended to pressure the government into reforming its organ donation laws and raise public awareness of the need for organs.

The three prospective recipients were real patients in need of transplants and had been in on the hoax, the show said.

Fucking Genius

I kind of wish it was true now.

now it all makes sense! the dutch gay HIV rape orgies render kidney donations useless, HENCE why there is negative publicity about them and positive publicity about kidneys.

I watched it, and there were some signs it wasn't real though.
"Lisa" (Leonie) had to make a first cut going from 25 contestants to 3, and there were 2 people under 16, who she cut "Because they have a good chance of getting a kidney".
She also weeded out the smokers and the unemployed. (a lot of very sick people can't work?!?)
And the fact that the contestants all at one point or another got really emotional, and she never did.
If I were dying of a brain tumor, I think I'd be crying if I had to disappoint 2 people on live TV.
So it was kinda clear it was a hoax, and our teletext service had already made the announcement it was a hoax before the show itself was stopped at the very last minute.
But it was a great initiative, over 12.000 people sent a text message to get a donor registration form in their mailbox, now it's just a matter of how many will honestly fill it in.
In the last few days a lot of people reacted positive, saying they hadn't thought about donating or were adamantly against it, and now they will donate.
So it was all good.
And obviously, this will be discussed in parliament, BNN had made a really great clip out of news footage, listing all the quotes from the politicians who were against this show, and they said they hoped they would say the same things about these statistics: (I was a little off in my first post it seems)
Over 1450 patients are on a waiting list, of which 200 people die each year.
Over 400 people receive a new organ.
One of the contestants has been waiting for a new kidney for 13 years, and is on dialysis for 9 hours each day.
One of the contestants has such a horrid kidney she can only drink half a liter of fluids each day.
HALF A LITER!
I wonder if she ever gets thirsty at all.

And Kesh:
Orthodox Jews have the same "being buried complete" policy, they're also anti autopsy and anti cremation.
The more hardcore ones at least.
It's like when there's a suicide bombing, there's a special group of people who will try to collect all the body parts at the scene to make the bodies complete again.
They even do that for the bomber.

If even the Dutch are pulling their punches, who can we rely on for true bad taste television?

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Time is the distance that you can't return by miles.

I escaped somehow. Let's go

actualy [sic] I have quite a blessed life if I'm honest. I have many people to love, hate few and have few money problem's [sic].... What more does a person need? Oh yeah and I have some kind of humbleness unlike you of course ^_^ ~ CarefulCarpenter

On behalf of all of us I apologize Bort.

Fucking right you do.

__________________
Time is the distance that you can't return by miles.

I escaped somehow. Let's go

actualy [sic] I have quite a blessed life if I'm honest. I have many people to love, hate few and have few money problem's [sic].... What more does a person need? Oh yeah and I have some kind of humbleness unlike you of course ^_^ ~ CarefulCarpenter