The title of this post was a program idea dreamt up by a friend of mine upon hearing that Dutch TV is on the verge of broadcasting “The Donor Show”, a reality TV program where a terminally ill 37 year-old woman gets to choose the recipient of her kidneys after she dies. These apparently insensitive, insane ideas used to be comedic hyperbole in people’s stand-up routines. I’m sure a TV program making people shit in a sieve and be examined by a pseudo-scientific fraud would have been unthinkable when reality TV kicked off. “Whatever next, a TV show to select a presidential candidate?” I hear you cry! Don’t laugh: it’s been mooted. In fact, for 2008 it’s not just reality TV but MySpace that are picking a candidate to stand as an ‘Independent’. It’s fun to think of the next incredible leap that reality TV producers will make to try and convince a risque network that they want to commission it.
This latest show, the kidney one, is being defended by Endemol (you could have guessed Endemol, right?) as being a public service! That great benevolent production outfit aren’t manipulating people’s feelings for cheap ratings, you understand, they’re doing it to highlight the shortage of organ donors in the country. Whilst it’s true, there is a shortage of organ donors, this is largely the result of the legislation covering donorship. If we want lots of spare lungs, kidneys and corneas, governments need to adopt an opt-out approach to organ donorship, rather than the usual opt-in of the “Donor Card”. It would dramatically increase the available pool of donor organs and those who oppose donorship on spurious religious reasons can opt out as they see fit.
Talking of Endemol, this year’s Big Brother marathon is about to begin. 14-or-so weeks of fervent speculation about the mental health of a dozen housemates who may or may not threaten to become witless organ donors themselves. I can’t wait.
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