We Won! We Won!

“Tales From the Organ Trade”, produced by Ric Esther Bienstock, Felix Golubev and me – brilliantly directed by Ric Esther Bienstock – continues to bring in the awards. We just heard from the Scripps Howard Foundation that we won the prestigious Jack R. Howard Award for “In Depth Television (National/International) Coverage” in their annual National Journalism competition: http://www.shawards.org/. The trophy and a $10,000 prize will be presented at a special awards dinner in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 22, 2014.

“Tales From the Organ Trade” is the first documentary film to track down every major participant in a kidney trafficking scheme: seller, buyer, doctor, Interpol agent etc. It humanizes the issue by revealing the nuances of the problem. It is now forcing doctors and lawmakers to rethink the ethics of the issue. Recently, in New York, there was a special screening by the Global Bioethics Initiative. This was followed by a special screening in the Danish Parliament by lawmakers weighing the issues involved in the buying and selling of kidneys. At least one speaker recommended that kidney sales should be decriminalized. Regulation, not criminalization, should be the order of the day, he said. Every year, thousands die needlessly waiting for kidneys that could be available if the laws governing organ sales would be changed. This inside look at the kidney trade is fast becoming a catalyst for rethinking the organ trade issues.

So far, “Tales From the Organ Trade” has garnered 6 international awards.

Check out my latest blog in the Times of Israel: Professor Yuval Goren: Criticism from an unexpected quarter