ABC-TV Gets It Right According to Organ Donation Community

ABC-TV Gets It Right According to Organ Donation Community

'Brothers and Sisters,' 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Samantha Who?' to be Honored at Donate Life Film Festival - June 13

LOS ANGELES, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 13, Donate Life Hollywood will honor three ABC-TV shows, "Brothers and Sisters," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Samantha Who?" with its first annual Inspire Award. This honor, from the organ and tissue donation and transplant community, will be presented at the culmination of the daylong Donate Life Film Festival at the Directors Guild of America. Three of the five honored scripted television storylines that met the Donate Life Hollywood criteria were on ABC-TV. "Inspire" winners show the dramatic process of organ donation and transplantation in a way that is both accurate and inspiring, without perpetuating harmful myths.

The Thanksgiving "Brothers and Sisters" episode, Just a Sliver, featured a pediatric liver transplant and living liver donation. The writing highlighted the incredible human drama that is at the core of organ donation and transplantation.

"Grey's Anatomy's" realistic and emotional portrayal of a domino kidney transplant in There's No 'I' in Team helped viewers better understand this rare but effective way of overcoming this nation's shortage of organs.

Both of these "Inspire" winners used expert consultation in their storylines. "Their efforts produced not only incredibly inspiring stories," says Tenaya Wallace, campaign director, Donate Life Hollywood, "but stories that got it right, which helps save lives."

"Samantha Who?" took action to get it right even after getting it wrong. When a punch line referencing payment for organs elicited letters of concern from Donate Life Hollywood, Donald Todd, creator of "Samantha Who?" took immediate action to cut the offending lines from all future airings of The Job.

Recent research by Dr. Susan Morgan, Purdue University, provides evidence that myths about organ donation, such as a black market for organs, prevent people from registering as donors. With over 100,000 people currently waiting for a life-saving organ and 18 people dying every day waiting because of a shortage of organs, these storylines could literally be costing lives.

Donate Life Hollywood is part of the national Donate Life movement and serves as a liaison between the organ and tissue community and the entertainment industry with the mission of seeing more accurate and inspiring organ donation storylines on television and in film. www.donatelifehollywood.org

Source: Donate Life Hollywood

CONTACT: Rivian Bell, rbell@jdipr.com, or Lisa Bernfeld, both of JDI
Communications, +1-213-612-4927, 1-888-477-4319

Web Site: http://www.donatelifehollywood.org/

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