This past weekend I streamed a preview of a new movie about living organ donors, kidneys (mostly) and some livers. It's called Abundant, and early in the project it described itself as "a documentary about the human experience of giving."
The movie consists mostly of the stories of donors, the experiences they had, and how they felt and feel about the lives they saved, and their connection to other donors, who are able to share the profound satisfaction that donation has given them. The stories are interspersed with commentary from various kinds of experts. (I was on the preview list since I get a good 60 seconds of commentary:)
The movie is also about chains, starting with kidney exchange chains, since many of the donors are nondirected donors who started chains.
At a more metaphorical level, the movie talks about chains of connections. One of the people they interview is Stephen Dubner, the host of the podcast Freakonomics. He interviewed me on Freakonomics about kidney exchange, that podcast was heard by Ned Brooks, who was moved to donate a kidney (which started a chain) and then to start the National Kidney Donor Organization (NKDO). Dubner interviewed him on Freakonomics too, and those Freakonomics interviews contributed more links to the chain.
This movie is destined to be a link in that chain too.
With more than half a million people on dialysis in the U.S., almost everyone knows or knows of someone who needs a kidney transplant. This is the movie for all of them, with stories that may help them find a donor. And who knows how many people will create new links in that chain.
It's a movie about how generosity creates abundance.
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