Is it right to turn a bone marrow search into a reality show?
3/13/2012
A 7-year-old kid with leukemia may star in a reality show aimed at finding him a bone marrow donor.
Is this an example of reality tv doing good -- or of it exploiting the sick?
Luis Danvers was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009. His family has been searching for a bone-marrow donor ever since.
Now Luis is being filmed for a reality show pilot.
Bone marrow donors need to be a close match to the person receiving the life-saving substance, and not enough people are registered. That may be because bone marrow donation sounds scary and painful -- but new means of extracting bone marrow stem cells are similar to just donating blood.
ANYTHING that increases the number of people who register as donors is a good thing…. but do you think a reality show takes things too far?
If you don't want to wait for a reality show to learn about bone marrow donation, check out the National Marrow Donor Program.