Amsterdam, Netherlands – 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.
Asked to intervene, the government declined, saying it would be censorship to stop the broadcast, regardless of how distasteful – and even unethical – it might be. And it’s unclear whether the contestants are a medical match with the terminally ill woman, and whether the winner would be capable of receiving her kidney.
The publicly financed television network, BNN, said it intends to go ahead with the program Friday, drawing attention to the hundreds of people who die each year for lack of a kidney transplant.
“The information I have right now tells me that the program is unfitting and unethical, especially due to the competitive element, but it’s up to program makers to make their choices,” said Education Minister Ronald Plasterk.
BNN defended “The Big Donor Show.”
“Some people will think it’s tasteless, but we think the reality is even more shocking and tasteless: Waiting for an organ is just like playing the lottery,” said network chairman Laurens Drillich.
“The Big Donor Show” is produced by Endemol NV, which created the “Big Brother” concept in 1999 and marketed it around the world, setting off the rage of reality TV.
The network identified the donor only as “Lisa” and gave no other information about her. During the show, she will hear interviews with the three candidates, their families and friends before choosing who will get her kidney.
Viewers will be able to vote for a candidate via SMS text messages, but the final determination will be Lisa’s, the network said.
Paul Beerkens, director of Kidney Association, welcomed the sudden attention to the problem of organ donations but called on BNN to cancel the show now that it has gained publicity.
“There are about 1,500 people waiting on the list for more than four years, so something has to be done,” Beerkens told AP Television News. “But let’s be clear: This is not the way.”
