Book vs. Movie: My Sister's Keeper

I had the interesting pleasure to read the book "My Sister's Keeper" while I was on dialysis and awaiting the kidney transplant from our awesome friend Dan. (If you haven't read the book, it's a tear jerker, and you can find the plot at the link above). It was definitely interesting to read a story of someone else, although fictional, going through dialysis and awaiting a kidney transplant. The donor in this case is Ana, Kate the patient's sister who was created as a designer baby to essentially save and be a constant donor to Kate who is suffering from leukemia. While my kidney failure was from Lupus, it was interesting, thought provoking, and frightening to think that on a whim my donor could suddenly change his mind regarding donation.

Fast forward 6 months later to today when I watched the movie rendition of the book. Now we all know generally movies aren't nearly as good as the book was and I believe it to be the same with this movie. One of the things that really struck me as an organ transplant recipient was the incorrect information that the actresses kept repeating for the reasons to not donate a kidney:

1. You can't play sports

2. You can't have kids

3. You can't be a cheerleader

With the exception of contact sports not being recommended, these are grossly untrue.

I really struggled with this during the film. What if this movie was someone's only exposure to potentially donating a kidney? What if someone wasn't given a second chance at life because they thought this to be true? Now I know it's just a movie, but doesn't film as a media medium have some responsibility to keep things semi accurate? Especially when you are portraying so many other medical issues throughout the film, why would you drop the ball at that point.

If you've ever even considered being an organ donor, whether donating while you are alive, or after death, be sure to check out Donate Life.