{"id":18646,"date":"2002-02-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2002-02-12T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2002\/02\/12\/hollywood-brings-organ-donation-to-the-big-screen\/"},"modified":"2002-02-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2002-02-12T06:00:00","slug":"hollywood-brings-organ-donation-to-the-big-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2002\/02\/12\/hollywood-brings-organ-donation-to-the-big-screen\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood brings organ donation to the big screen"},"content":{"rendered":"

NHS wants to help movie fans separate fact from fiction in the Denzel Washington movie, “John Q.” <\/p>\n

“John Q” is the story of a young boy who unexpectedly collapses on a baseball field. Rushed to the hospital, it is evident he will need a heart transplant. When his distraught father discovers their health insurance won’t cover the transplant operation, the boy is taken off the donor waiting list. Consequently, the infuriated father, played by Washington, violently takes over the hospital emergency room.<\/p>\n

While the movie tells a fictional story, it depicts the real-life desperation felt by the thousands of Americans waiting for a transplant.”I think that movies like this one have a tendency to over dramatize,” said Kolleen Thompson, manager of NHS’ Organ Recovery Service, “but they focus on the desperation and helplessness families feel waiting on the list for an organ donor to come up for their loved ones.”<\/p>\n

Of the 80,000 people currently waiting for an organ transplant in the United States, 2,500 are children. On average, 16 people, some of them children, die each day waiting for an organ. Those statistics illustrate the real story behind “John Q,” the story that so many patients and families try to tell — the need for organ and tissue donation.<\/p>\n

“We hope this movie can serve as a call to action,” Thompson said. “People need to discuss the issue of organ and tissue donation, make their decision and then share that decision with their families. Becoming an organ donor is how you become a hero for life.”<\/p>\n

Since the movie began filming in the summer of 2000, the waiting list for organ transplant has grown by some 6,452 people and since Sept. 11, the word “hero” has taken on a deeper meaning that transplant families know well.<\/p>\n

“The pictures of Sept. 11 are forever imbedded in our minds,” Thompson said. “Rescue workers risking their own lives to help save someone they have never met. These pictures illustrate the same commitment of the organ donor who made a decision to help save the life of a ‘faceless stranger’ in need.”<\/p>\n

The movie, “John Q,” opens in theaters Friday, Feb. 15.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NHS wants to help movie fans separate fact from fiction in the Denzel Washington movie, “John Q.” The movie, which opens in theaters Feb. 15, tells the fictional story of a boy in need of a heart transplant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-unmc-today-todays-headlines","author_override-kelly-grinnell-nhs-corporate-communications"],"yoast_head":"\nHollywood brings organ donation to the big screen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NHS wants to help movie fans separate fact from fiction in the Denzel Washington movie, "John Q." 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