Holby City: BBC accused of risking lives in "reckless" portrayal of organ donation in
As a result of this “gross distortion”, it says some registered donors have asked to come OFF the list, with potentially fatal results
The BBC was last night accused of risking lives and ignoring professional medical advice in a “reckless” portrayal of organ donation in Holby City.
Five million viewers watched this week’s episode which centred on a heart-swap plot about a teenage girl left brain dead after an accident and another needing a transplant.
But NHS Blood and Transplant, responsible for organ donation, has identified 12 disturbing events that would never be allowed to happen.
As a result of this “gross distortion”, it says some registered donors have asked to come OFF the list, with potentially fatal results.
In a stinging two-page letter of complaint, shown to the Mirror, NHSBT chiefs accuse the BBC of creating “a risk to public confidence” in the transplant system.
Three people die every day in the UK because there are not enough organ donations to meet demand.
Associate medical director Prof James Neuberger and national clinical lead Dr Paul Murphy warn the “inaccurate” portrayal could mean “fewer will become donors and fewer will get life-saving transplants”.
The BBC also went ahead with the fictional episode after allegedly ignoring “concerns about the storyline” from NHSBT’s top nurse.
The letter says: “Despite her sharing professional concerns about the proposed storyline, these scenes were nevertheless retained, presumably for the purpose of creating a more controversial storyline.
“The bodies of recently dead were portrayed as commodities and the wishes of grieving relatives treated with callous disregard. It was in our view inexcusable and reckless.”
Among a string of other inaccuracies shown on Tuesday evening during primetime on BBC1 the mother of a donor girl was told the recipient’s name.
She was also able to talk to the recipient’s transplant team. And she even witnessed the first incision to the chest of her daughter with a scalpel – after she had withdrawn consent. None of this would ever happen in reality.
The NHSBT bosses went on to accuse the BBC of misleading the public in a “gross distortion of the truth” which is a “betrayal of the trust placed in them by the taxpayer”.
Last night the BBC said the episode was not meant to be accurate and future episodes would address the consequences of breaches in protocol.
But critics pointed out that many of the 4.8 million viewers who tuned in may not see the rest of the series and could be left with a completely false impression of organ donation.
Harm
More than 10,000 people in the UK currently need a transplant. Of these, 1,000 each year will die because there are not enough organs.
Prof Neuberger and Dr Murphy added: “If we are going to save more lives through transplantation then the public need to believe in the system that supports donation.
“Those responsible for this episode of Holby City threaten this and have done nothing but harm.”
After already receiving 48 complaints, a BBC spokesman said: “The purpose of this storyline is to dramatise the consequences that could arise should the protocols be ignored.”
