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Endemol's latest show sparks protests

29/05/2007

A new Dutch TV show from Big Brother makers Endemol has sparked protests from political and health groups in the country.

The Big Donor Show will see a terminally ill woman select one of three patients to receive her kidneys, which activists say is distasteful.

But the makers of the programme and the show's broadcaster BNN say it will highlight the difficulty in the modern world of finding kidney donors.

The 37-year-old terminally ill woman has been identified only as Lisa and she will make her selection after talking to the three contestants with their family and friends.

Viewer interaction will be based on advice which can be sent by text message to the donor during the 80-minute show.

Alexander Pechtold from D-66, the Dutch social liberal party, said the problem of finding a kidney donor outweighed the issue of distaste.

He told the Today programme: "For years and years we have had problems in the Netherlands with organ donations and especially kidney donations.

"You can have a discussion about if this is distasteful, but finally we have a public debate."

BNN's founder, Bart de Graaff, died from kidney failure five years ago despite a number of transplants and the programme is seen as a tribute as an attempt to place the issue at the heart of public debate.


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