NEWS: Reality TV 2.0: Competing for Body Parts

CULTURE: Reality TV 2.0: Competing for Body Parts

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Kidney Recipient? That's the question Dutch television network BNN is asking with it's hugely controversial new "reality" program, The Big Donor Show. The network, founded by Bart de Graaff, who suffered and eventually died from serious renal failure, insists that it wants to highlight a crisis in organ donations, but many opponents of the show are questioning whether a public contest for a lifesaving organ would cross the boundary of merely objectionable to actually illegal.

The show will go a little something like this: "Lisa," the 37-year old donor with an inoperable brain tumor, will hear interviews with the three candidates, their families and friends before choosing who will get her kidney. Viewers will also be able to vote for a candidate, American Idol style.

Many are up at arms about the "fairness" of such a show. They're calling it tasteless, and arguing that it "should be done in a fair way, which means that the people who wait the longest or who have the greatest medical urgency should get the organs first and it's not a popularity contest. It shouldn't be that who wins a certain game should get the organs. I mean, maybe this person is only waiting for a week or so and would jump the line to people who would be waiting one or two years."

I hate to say it, but last time I checked, life wasn't "fair." I realize we're talking about life and death and morals and ethics, here, but I really don't see how a show where the prize is a kidney is any less tasteful than a show where women compete for a husband, or participants undergo extreme makeovers. It's all tasteless, but at least The Big Donor Show will potentially draw attention to the crisis in organ donations.

helen, i'm with you on this not being more tasteless than the bachelor(ette) or the swan, but it does seem more...unethical just because it is literally life and death on the line.

i may think that giving women with obvious insecurities tons of plastic surgery and leaving them to ponder why their lives haven't changed is unsavory, but at least the "victims" here aren't fucking dying.

Yeah, maybe I'm just jaded. Besides, aren't we all dying, anyway? Kidddddddddding, geez.

Let's face it, the moment some dying kid finds out they're not going to be receiving a kidney is going to be TV gold.

I don't think it's a very nice show.

it was going to happen eventually , im just waiting for the Running Man tv show

yeah I just heard about it... well, while somewhat tasteless and questionable, it's where it was bound to end up anyway... I mean, it's reality tv afterall, and we all know how reality is messed up and quite often not very fair. Besides, there's worse things in life... and yes, we're all gonna die one day or another...

Oh man... now there's a scary thought.

I live in Holland and only just heard about this from the SG article. I quickly glanced over some of the (dutch language) reactions on BNN's website. I doesn't look like too many people are in agreement with this show. As one pointed out: it may have the opposite effect of what BNN desires. Causing people to be less prepared to donate organs.

I personally HATE reality TV with a passion. It seems to just be getting worse and worse all the time, while continuing to push the boundries of "how far is too far?" One of these days, and i fear it will be very soon, these kind of shows are going to cost someone their life. And after the ratings spike that creates (humans being the morbidly curious creatures that we are) i fear the "Running Man" scenario may not be far behind....

Wow 1 or 2 years is the minimal waiting time in the UK.

This is actually slightly less disturbing than 'I want a famous face' on MTV, or whatever it is.
At least at the end of this one person gets an operation they actually need.

Survival of the fittest?! Not any more!! Survival of who ever has the better friends!

>probly comes down to who ever has the best hair cut too..
>>i'm totally tivoing this.

Series 7, anyone?

This is in poor taste, but I have to applaud the government for not censoring the program.
I am surprised the article claims it's unknown whether the contestants are compatible with the donor. Surely that would be one of the criteria for competing?

This is pretty sick considering what the people and their families are going through already. Really terrible actually.

+1

And it all turned out to be a publicity stunt...

The lady was an actress and the contestants were in on the "joke". all in pretty poor taste I think.

But still I wonder how long it will take before the concept of "it bleeds, it leads" will become a criteria for reality TV as well as the news.