When will television finally get it right?

Research about how organ donation is portrayed on television has inspired a Hollywood advocacy group. Susan Morgan, associate professor of health communication at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., has found that inaccurate storylines about organ and tissue donation stop people from registering as organ donors. As a result, Donate Life Hollywood was created to discourage the "stolen kidney" storyline from television and film, notes Tenaya Wallace, director of the national campaign.

"Professor Morgan's research has inspired us to put Hollywood on alert," Wallace announces. "We have been passive about this problem, but we now have evidence that what viewers think about organ donation is directly related to what they see in television storylines. This is not just about creative license. We want Hollywood writers, directors, producers, and executives to know there is a public health impact."

The most commonly portrayed inaccuracies involve black markets for organs, doctors not saving a potential donor's life, organs being stolen, and people with money receiving higher priority on waiting lists, Morgan indicates. "During 2004 and 2005, organ donation appeared as a primary storyline on entertainment television in more than 80 episodes in medical dramas, police shows, comedy, and daytime soap operas," Morgan points out. "It is difficult to believe that none of these appearances presented organ donation in an accurate or positive light, but that is what we found." Morgan's follow-up study shows that viewers, especially those who had not decided if they would register as donors, were influenced by what they saw on television.

Donate Life Hollywood is producing DramAlerts for media and other organizations about donation and transplant storylines before they are put on the air. The goal is for these alerts to inspire news stories about donation that use the storylines as a timely news peg.

The campaign also will organize an effort called After the Show, in which talking points will be provided for advocacy groups and individuals who want to write letters to scriptwriters, producers, and network executives about inaccuracies and offer praise for accuracy.

"Perpetuating myths keeps people from signing up," Wallace says. "We need to be vigilant. The real stories are so full of drama and inspiration and things writers are looking for. They are drama enough."

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