About 20 people in the U.S. die every day while hoping—in vain—to receive a transplant organ, according to this documentary from John Robbins and Lance Lipman. Dying to Live focuses on four people who find themselves in limbo because of the incredibly long waiting list. With no prospects for improving health without a new liver or kidney, their fear of entering a rapid decline creates harrowing uncertainty, causing understandable strains on their relationships with loved ones (on top of the extraordinary medical bills). Interlaced with these profiles are looks at two donors—a teaching nurse at an Atlanta hospital who gives one of her kidneys to a dialysis patient in desperate need, and the parents of a 21-year-old who fulfilled his wish to become a donor after he died from a brain injury. The filmmakers also speak with doctors and other experts who offer advice on becoming a donor, while dispelling common misunderstandings. Helping to raise awareness of a very serious void within the U.S. healthcare system while also underscoring the amazing courage demonstrated by waiting patients and their families, this moving documentary is recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
Dying to Live
(2010) 60 min. DVD: $248. Icarus Films. PPR. Volume 26, Issue 6
Dying to Live
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