NETHERLANDS:A Dutch reality television show, in which a supposedly dying woman had to decide to donate a kidney to one of three contestants, was a hoax, the programme makers said yesterday.
The show, which the programme makers said was intended to highlight the shortage of organ donors in the Netherlands, was condemned by Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende ahead of transmission and sparked controversy worldwide. Identified only as "Lisa", the 37-year-old woman who was said to have a brain tumour was to base her selection on the person's history and conversations with all of the candidates' families and friends.
At the last minute however, it was revealed that she was a healthy actor. The contestants were also part of the deception.
Viewers in the Netherlands were asked to give advice via text messages during the 80-minute show which started at yesterday evening.
The show sparked criticism at home and abroad, with many saying that reality TV had gone too far.
However, callers to a local radio station had suggested that the whole thing could be a hoax by BNN to build up its ratings.
The programme was detrimental to organ donation, Mr Balkenende said yesterday, adding that it would also damage the Netherlands' reputation abroad.
Dutch embassies said that they had received a number of complaints from people expressing their shock over the show, the Dutch foreign ministry said on its website.
Public broadcaster BNN, which came up with the idea for the programme, said that it wanted to draw attention to the shortage of organ donors in the Netherlands.
"We are making a programme that we know is extremely controversial . . . but we believe that the reality is far worse," BNN chairman Laurans Drillich said, pointing to long waiting lists for organs.- ( Reuters)