Things I love: stories in the media that get people talking about organ donation and transplant.
Things I hate: WHEN THE MEDIA TWISTS THESE STORIES AND MANIPULATES THE PUBLIC!!!
Sigh. Where do I begin?
Back in 2013, two stories came out regarding two young people (one, an 11 year old girl and the other, a 15-year old boy) who were on the transplant waiting list waiting for lungs and a heart, respectively. The way that both stories were presented, it made the hospital and/or transplant team look the "bad guys" and the oh-so-innocent families seem like perfect angels (notice sarcasm).
At one point, one of the families pressured the Secretary of the United States Health and Human Services to change the lung transplant law and even she decided not to intervene and not bend the 12-and-under rules. (FYI: the rule is that children 12-and-under cannot receive a LAS (Lung Allocation Score) and are ineligible to be on the adult lung transplant waiting list).
Eventually, a judge came in and briefly changed the law so that the girl could (hopefully) receive adult lungs. She did but almost immediately, there were complications and 72 hours later, she received her second lung transplant, and again, those lungs came from an adult donor.
When she was six months post transplant, articles were published describing how well she was doing but......I've been in that girl's shoes and it was clear that she wasn't doing well. It bothered me that the media made it seem like she'd made a miraculous recovery when it was clear, to me, she was still struggling. Even now, when the rare story comes out, it's clear that her recovery has been unusually difficult and it makes me sad that she's paraded out.
The other story is a bit different.
The way it was portrayed: 15 year old boy needs heart transplant and transplant center turns him down! BOO!! They're so mean!! How could they?!
The reality: 15 year old boy, who already received one heart transplant, has an ankle bracelet and own mother admits she can't take him to his doctor appointments, needs a heart transplant and transplant center turns him down because they know it would be a waste of an organ. IMO, the transplant center wasn't being "mean".....they were doing their job but the media did NOT tell the public the little details I put in bold. How convenient, huh? **rolls eyes**
After outcry and pressure from the media and public, the hospital reversed their decision and the boy got his transplant. "YAY" right? Nope. On April 1, 2015, after a botched robbery, the boy stole an elderly woman's car, crashed and died.
I shit you not. Not even two years after his second heart transplant and the gift is destroyed. Ridiculous....
Yes, I know that there ARE positive stories out there regarding transplantation but, unfortunately, the ones that get the most attention are the ones that are spun a certain way and it frustrates the daylights out of me!!
Sigh....
To end this post on a high note, here is a positive story regarding organ donation:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/ravens-player-maake-kemoeatu-donates-kidney-brother-chris/story?id=25598572
Almost one year ago, this news link was "Liked" 1,000 times and shared 236 times; and on ESPN's news link, it was shared 313k times on Facebook. Now it's stories like that that I would like to see more often!!!
(Part 2 will be regarding transplant on television and on film....I already have some ideas at how I want to write it.)
Things I hate: WHEN THE MEDIA TWISTS THESE STORIES AND MANIPULATES THE PUBLIC!!!
Sigh. Where do I begin?
 |
| Controlling the way the public views transplantation, one story at a time.... |
Back in 2013, two stories came out regarding two young people (one, an 11 year old girl and the other, a 15-year old boy) who were on the transplant waiting list waiting for lungs and a heart, respectively. The way that both stories were presented, it made the hospital and/or transplant team look the "bad guys" and the oh-so-innocent families seem like perfect angels (notice sarcasm).
At one point, one of the families pressured the Secretary of the United States Health and Human Services to change the lung transplant law and even she decided not to intervene and not bend the 12-and-under rules. (FYI: the rule is that children 12-and-under cannot receive a LAS (Lung Allocation Score) and are ineligible to be on the adult lung transplant waiting list).
Eventually, a judge came in and briefly changed the law so that the girl could (hopefully) receive adult lungs. She did but almost immediately, there were complications and 72 hours later, she received her second lung transplant, and again, those lungs came from an adult donor.
When she was six months post transplant, articles were published describing how well she was doing but......I've been in that girl's shoes and it was clear that she wasn't doing well. It bothered me that the media made it seem like she'd made a miraculous recovery when it was clear, to me, she was still struggling. Even now, when the rare story comes out, it's clear that her recovery has been unusually difficult and it makes me sad that she's paraded out.
 |
| Things that make you go "hmmm....." |
The other story is a bit different.
The way it was portrayed: 15 year old boy needs heart transplant and transplant center turns him down! BOO!! They're so mean!! How could they?!
The reality: 15 year old boy, who already received one heart transplant, has an ankle bracelet and own mother admits she can't take him to his doctor appointments, needs a heart transplant and transplant center turns him down because they know it would be a waste of an organ. IMO, the transplant center wasn't being "mean".....they were doing their job but the media did NOT tell the public the little details I put in bold. How convenient, huh? **rolls eyes**
After outcry and pressure from the media and public, the hospital reversed their decision and the boy got his transplant. "YAY" right? Nope. On April 1, 2015, after a botched robbery, the boy stole an elderly woman's car, crashed and died.
I shit you not. Not even two years after his second heart transplant and the gift is destroyed. Ridiculous....
 |
| Sadly, this is so very true.... |
Yes, I know that there ARE positive stories out there regarding transplantation but, unfortunately, the ones that get the most attention are the ones that are spun a certain way and it frustrates the daylights out of me!!
Sigh....
To end this post on a high note, here is a positive story regarding organ donation:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/ravens-player-maake-kemoeatu-donates-kidney-brother-chris/story?id=25598572
Almost one year ago, this news link was "Liked" 1,000 times and shared 236 times; and on ESPN's news link, it was shared 313k times on Facebook. Now it's stories like that that I would like to see more often!!!
(Part 2 will be regarding transplant on television and on film....I already have some ideas at how I want to write it.)
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