I used to love fall. I am an avid TV watcher so the new fall season was like unwrapping a beautiful birthday present. This was the time when all my favorite shows would come back, bolder and brighter, with new characters and revamped storylines, each one a gift to unwrap and explore.
But now that I work in the field of organ and tissue donation all of that has changed for me. Now I know what’s coming, and it’s not good.
For the past five years I have been inspired daily by real-life stories of giving and gratitude; stories of a mother who donates her infant’s heart so that another mom doesn’t feel the pain of losing a child or of a father on his death bed who is restored to full health with a liver transplant in time to walk his daughter down the aisle. It is dramatic and awe-inspiring stuff. But it’s not the stuff you’ll see on TV.
What will you see? According to research by Dr. Susan Morgan at Purdue University, entertainment television is filled with damaging myths like a black market for organs, kidneys being stolen, doctors hastening the death of a potential donor, or people with money moving up on the transplant list.
The truth is none of these things happen but the storylines are so prevalent that most people believe they do.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment