Dutch premier glad donor show a publicity stunt
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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch prime minister said a reality television show about a "dying" woman donating her kidneys, which turned out to be a hoax, was not the most suitable way of highlighting the need for more organ donors.
The show sparked worldwide controversy ahead of transmission on Friday and Premier Jan Peter Balkenende had said it would harm the reputation of the Netherlands abroad.
Balkenende was pleased the program was nothing more than a publicity stunt, Dutch news agency ANP reported on Saturday.
"Some will find it great and creative, on the other side there will be people who find it coarse and misleading," he said.
In his opinion the show was not the most appropriate method for drawing attention to organ donorship, but he hoped it would make people really think about the issue.
Around 1.2 million people watched, according to ANP, giving broadcaster BNN its seventh highest audience ever. About 12,000 people signed up as organ donors during the show.
"An hour later we were still sitting at home with our mouths open and our caps off to them. A great stunt. Historic television," television reviewer Wim de Jong wrote in daily De Volkskrant.
HEALTHY ACTRESS
Identified only as "Lisa", the 37-year-old "dying" woman turned out to be a healthy actress.
But the three candidates were genuine patients in need of kidney transplants, the show's producers revealed in the last minutes of the "The Big Donorshow".
"Their life is bitter reality," the presenter said, after admitting the deception at the moment when Lisa was to have made her life-saving choice.
The Dutch media were largely positive about the show, co-produced by makers of "Big Brother" Endemol, praising its ingenuity and stressing that the publicity helped a good cause.
Taxi driver Rob Goverts, 67, said he had suspected all along it was a publicity stunt.
"In a civilized country you just do not do things like this. It was unorthodox but for shaking people awake, it was good," he said. He signed up as an organ donor 15 years ago.
Others felt deceived. "This is sick, messing with people's minds -- and then you pat yourselves on the back over it," brickx blogged on broadcaster BNN's website.
After the show, Dutch Education Minister Ronald Plasterk hailed it as a "fantastic stunt". BNN had said all along the show aimed to draw attention to the shortage of organ donors.
The Netherlands has one of the lowest donor rates in Europe, according to data compiled by the country's Health Council.
About 40,000 patients are waiting for an organ transplant across the EU. The mortality rate while waiting for a heart, liver or lung transplant is between 15 and 30 percent.
(Additional reporting by Alexandra Hudson)
