A Dutch TV show received global criticism when people learned that the series centered on a woman that was dying from a brain tumor and offering one of her kidneys to one of three contestants in need of the organ. The woman was supposed to get to know them and decide which of them she wanted to give her kidney to. As it turns out, the whole thing was a hoax meant to shed light on the fact that around 200 people die each year in the Netherlands while waiting for a kidney transplant.
According to The Associated Press, at the last minute on the show, titled “Big Donor Show,” the woman supposedly dying of a brain tumor was revealed to be an actress. The three contestants who were finalists in the competition were in fact, real patients who needed kidneys but they were all aware that the show was a hoax.
The very idea that there would be a show involving sick people essentially begging for their lives is pretty disturbing. With the direction some Reality TV shows are headed in, it’s not all that surprising that most people believed this show was a legitimate contest. As a marketing strategy, it was brilliant. The stunt has raised awareness or the issue of organ transplants not just in The Netherlands but all around the world.
