Documentary Film

[AmandaFeder]

Hi-

my name is Amanda Feder and I work for an independent production company based in Toronto.

Are you a kidney patient on dialysis looking for alternatives to the waiting list for an organ? We'd like to hear from you if you're interested in being in a documentary on the interminable waiting lists and the state of the health system in Canada.

You can contact me at storyline1@live.ca.

Thanks!

[paul.karen]

What are some of the alternatives??

And welcome to IHD..

[Wallyz]

This totally feels like a phish for a transplant tourism quack.

[Zach]

...  a documentary on the interminable waiting lists ...

Interminable.  Really?

[okarol]

This totally feels like a phish for a transplant tourism quack.

I have written to Amanda for more information.

[Razman]

 Hi Amanda ,  I live in Toronto and I am curious as to what you mean by the "health system in Canada" .

Please send me a private email with your phone number and we can talk.  Thanks

[Razman]

  Just a note.  I did not get a response to my request.

[kimcanada]

Thanks Razman I didn't quite get it

[paris]

Okarol, did you get a response?  Just wondering.

[okarol]

No response.

I did find "Amanda Feder" on the internet though:

http://belleville.en.craigslist.ca/com/1087818842.html "A Documentary about Twins!! (Ontario)"
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1393577/ "Amanda Feder, writer"
http://www.ryerson.ca/studentservices/internationalservices/aboutus/studentstaff/ "Ryerson University - Student Staff"

[AmandaFeder]

Hi guys-

I am so so sorry I have not responded!! Hotdocs, one of the most important documentary film festivals in the world, began yesterday and I had been swamped with work in preparation for this.  I also posted my message in another section of the forum- and kept checking that one for responses.

Firstly, please feel free to visit our documentary film company's website at www.storylineentertainment.com to look at our past work. I promise you that we make politically conscious, fair, important films that people see!!- despite the fact that many of you may not have heard of us, all our films have been broadcast on national television.

I  realize the message I posted was very vague- and yes, transplant tourism does have something to do with our project.  We are making a film about the "gray zone" that transplant tourims often finds itself in- particularly for Canadians. We are speaking to Canadians who have been waiting years for a transplant, or for their loved one to get a transplant- and who are considering leaving the country to find a solution.  I know that transplant tourism is controversial- and we do want to look at both sides of the coin so to speak- but we also want to stress that with Canada's health care system many Canadians are left feeling that they have few options.

Razman- I am sorry I didn't respond to your posting earlier.

You are all welcome to contact me at my email at amanda@storylineentertainment.com- if you would prefer that.

Again, I am sorry for the delay on my part.

[monrein]

Amanda, I also live in Toronto and have had years of dialysis and transplant experience (I have had one cadaveric and one living donor transplant) dating back to 1980.  I'm not sure that the Canadian wait for organs is too much different than that experienced in the US for example and it seems evident that as the number of people receiving treatment for ESRD has grown so has the need for transplants.  Demand has outstripped supply and as awful as that is I do worry about transplant tourism and the potential for the unethical, profit-driven motives of middlemen who could/would prey on both sides of a very vulnerable divide, that of the desperately ill and of the desperately poor.  There are perhaps however other options that need to be examined and considered in the attempt to procure more kidneys for transplantation in order to provide a better quality of life for many renal patients and additionally to reduce some of the very burdensome costs to our struggling health care system.  I should add that the Canadian system and OHIP in particular have served me extremely well and I am personally committed to seeing it remain healthy as it faces the many stresses of our modern world.

Please feel free to contact me via a PM if you want to discuss this issue further and I look forward myself to seeing some of this year's Hotdocs.
 

[Wallyz]

Amanda-
Sorry about the assumption.  We get that sort of thing here from time to time. Thank you for focusing on this issue.  I am on the transplant list in Seattle WA, in the US, and would be happy to interview comparing and contrasting the Canadian with the US system.

I will tell you that I do question the ethics of presenting transplant tourism as a gray zone, as it is pretty clearly illegal, exploitive, and dangerous for the patients. 

[AmandaFeder]

Hi Monrein and Wallyz-

Thank you so much for sharing some info about yourselves and offering to speak with me. I will pass this information on to our director.

Thanks!