Endemol, the worldwide television giant who created Big Brother and helped spark the reality TV craze, has caused some controversy with their latest project, “The Big Donor Show”.  The series will follow the plight of a terminally ill 37 year old woman with an inoperable brain tumor who wants to donate a kidney before she dies.  On the show, three needy contestants will compete for the right to her kidney once she passes.  In the end, the woman will decide who is to receive her kidney.

The show is set to air on the Dutch network BNN, but there has been sufficient outrage around the globe, many calling the show tasteless and offensive. 

It is an interesting argument, and it doesn't really seem right that a show like this should be on the air.  An expose on organ donors, or the plight of a needy recipient, is good material for a documentary or a news segment, but a reality show?  Should people really be competing for a kidney transplant?

It's great for the winner, but it's going to be difficult to stomach watching the two “losers” be told that they won't be receiving a kidney.  The other off-putting aspect of the show will be the fact that the main character is terminally ill.  Depending on her demeanor, she could be either inspiring or entirely depressing.    

On the other hand, why shouldn't a TV show be able to do something like this?  If it brings awareness to how difficult it is to find a donor, if it shows the courage of this terminally ill woman who wants to do some good before she passes, then isn't it all worth it, even if it is a bit exploitative?  If more people become organ donors as a result, how can anyone argue that it's bad?

What do you all think?  Is this as terrible an idea as some are making it out to be? Or, is it justified?

-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer

(Source, Image: CBSNews)