Why should the donation and transplant community care about inaccurate portrayals of organ donation on television?
“The public doesn’t see a difference between Hollywood storylines and reality,” explains Dr. Morgan, a professor of Entertainment Education, “because unlike televised sex and violence, they don’t have any personal experience to counter what they have learned about organ donation on television.”
Her research goes further and reveals that fears about donation mirror exactly what people see on their favorite shows. It seems that when a black market for organs is on television people feel they have “seen something with their own two eyes” and accept this as the truth.
The problem? “These fears are keeping people from signing up to be an organ donor,” concludes Morgan. With 17 people dying every day because of a shortage of organs, inaccurate storylines could literally be costing lives.
Research by Dr. Susan Morgan of Purdue University provides the most comprehensive study of organ donation storylines on television. Her research can be found at:
“Entertainment (Mis)Education: The Framing of Organ Donation in Entertainment Television” http://www.purdue.edu/dp/rche/donatelife/Entertainment_miseducation.pdf
The power of narratives: The effect of organ donation entertainment television storylines on the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of donors and non-donors
http://www.purdue.edu/dp/rche/donatelife/Power_of_Narratives.pdf
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