Organ Transplants in Dramaland

You just have to die in the right way! Easy, right?

 “It honestly felt like tryouts to some extreme survival show…“ 

Featuring the need, the surgery, and some aftermath: 

A Tale of Thousand Stars

In this drama we meet Tian (Mix Sahaphap Wongratch) who is more or less acting up while waiting for his death. Tian is probably not the most likeable character in the beginning of the drama as he is portrayed as a real bad boy, when he suddenly collapses. Next thing we know he is seen waking up in a hospital bed with very few wires and a recycled heart. And off to the wilderness he goes (not the best environment for a transplantee) to tackle his survivor’s guilt and finish the work the previous owner of the heart was doing (including falling for his crush). The story is filled with excitement and heart fluttering moments almost making the viewers forget the main plot of the heart. 

Where are all the tubes and wires?

I really liked how the writers wrote Tian’s character; he was kind of a “rebellious” teen who did not really care about life and not the typical “desperate to find a cure character,” that part was left for others. There were a lot of questionable parts in this drama, both about how he got the heart, as well as talk about the previous owner that did get on my nerves once or twice. However, as a whole I came to understand that this was more about showing survivor’s guilt. As the story progressed, Tian’s character as well as the people around him had great development and in the end they did seem to get to the point that his life is neither worth more or less than anybody else's. And I guess that is all that matters to me. Full review of the drama  I haven’t seen A Tale of Thousand Stars, but from what Shiro said, it certainly sounds quite interesting. I don’t think there are a lot of dramas that deal with the immediate aftermath of something as life changing as a heart transplant, so it’s cool to see a drama dedicated towards that.

Marriage Contract

I haven’t seen Marriage Contract, but I have seen Watcher, and the idea is honestly a bit unsavory. It certainly does highlight how difficult the process of receiving an organ can be, but you do question the morals of a character who essentially extorts someone for their organ. While I am not thrilled by the idea of people’s desperation to both buy and sell. I do appreciate them showing it as complicated and not as easy as it is in some other dramas that we mention later on.

Leading while living with a recycled Organ

You Are My Spring

This is a drama about a psychologist who falls in love with his neighbour but does not dare to act upon it because he thinks his heart gives him a due date. He is therefore living his life without committing to her or anybody out of fear to leave them behind. There is also a stalker, a murder, some kind of mystery, a pizza parlour owner, a celebrity ex-wife, and a bunch of pets, as well as a lot of really good one-liners. But the main point seems to be boy meets girl, yet cannot commit because he will soon die. 

This drama had such promise but in the end, it is the drama that makes my blood boil the most, not out of frustration but out of disappointment. They finally show a transplantee as a competent human being they had to ruin it with so much misinformation that I could not see anything else. And the survival rate may have been 50% after a decade in the beginning, but A LOT has changed since then as it depends on the recipients underling conditions, age, how good they are at taking their meds... This guy with his lifestyle would probably be able to live forever... ok not forever but definitely more than 10 years... or wait he does take suspiciously few meds? however the survival rate in Korea for recipients 1992-2012 was 74,8. By the time that guy got his it should have risen quite a bit... as the survival rate is constantly rising. Full review of the drama

When the lead is in need

Just Between Lovers

This  is another great drama dealing with survivor's guilt, this time not from receiving an organ, but rather from a mall collapsing and then living on to deal with the consequences. One of such consequences seems to be liver damage of the male lead: Lee Kang Doo (Lee Jun Ho)  lives untreated as his condition escalates to the point of needing a transplant. The drama as a whole has romance, friendship, corruption, and amazing representation of all kinds of people in a variety of touching situations. It shows the long-lasting effect of trauma, and also shows people as more than just survivors, in need, or rich, but as complex human beings with a range of capabilities, dreams, and whatnot. The romance is also superb.

I loved it, I loved it, I loved it, in this drama the need of a liver was just another part of life like any other illness and that can affect a person. 10 stars from me! I could go on for hours about this drama in general, but the use of the liver transplantation is definitely a sweet moment in the drama. As Shiro mentions, the need of the liver for the male lead is just another part of life. Yet it also offers our ML a moment of kindness in his life that has been full of hardships. Likewise, it seems to teach him to treat his body better, and it shows the audience why transplants are important.

Saying Goodbye

This is a sweet little Rom-Com drama about two very close friends Rickey (Seth Fedelin)  and Elise (Andrea Brillantes) who seem to keep missing the opportunity to become lovers. Rickey is an aspiring pastry chef who has been living a pretty “normal” life for the most part while having a weak heart, a condition that is barely noticeable for those who do not know about it. However at this point in time it is clear that his condition is rapidly getting worse and the only way for him to live on is by a change of heart, literally, as Rickey first rejects the idea of going through a heart transplant. In this drama we get to see the monetary issue of being able to afford to travel abroad to receive treatment. Rickey comes from a pretty well-off family, but the money is still an issue as the family is afraid they may not be able to raise the money in time for Rickey to get a heart. 

I like how normal and down to earth Rickey is portrayed – no different than any other Rom-com male lead – and how the heart transplant does not take over the rom-com part of the plot. I also like how they dare to show the monetary issue as an issue. When Rickey was informed of the need for a heart transplant, he just said “no thank you” and left it at that. I was surprised over how calm and seemingly accepting the people around him were about it. While I could completely understand his sentiments and loved how they showed that it is not a given that a receiver wants to receive an organ. I was surprised that the doctor and parents did not react stronger and about the way the doctor talked about organ transplants. It was very different from the way my doctors talked about it, but it also helped me understand more about just how much the monetary issue is for those living in countries where this type of life vital  treatment is not highly subsidised or accessible as it is where I live. However, the drama does include a lot of misinformation about both criteria, life expectancy, and planning ahead/finding a suitable heart and that bothered me a lot. This could be partly due to a very low transplant rate in the Philippines (see statistics at the bottom of this article). So the information that was acceptable to me to may just not be the same or available there, but this is just me guessing. Full review of the drama  It definitely is interesting to see a character who rejects a transplant on a monetary basis. We see this kind of topic a lot (especially in medical dramas) with characters refusing treatment or hiding their problems because they can’t afford it. But a transplant is something you don’t often see addressed like this.

There for the thrills

Squid Game

I love the thrills. I will admit that, but I do hope it does not affect people's will to donate their organs and  to have faith in the networks and donation systems that are set up to make sure only people who do not need their organs (happen to die in the right way) or want to donate them of their own free will donate their organs to those who truly need them, and not only for those with the biggest wallets. Full review of:  Squid Game and Sleepless Society: Insomnia. Totally agree with Shiro that the use of black-market organ donation (let’s say organ trafficking), can be both thrilling but also a bit worrying. Luckily, since those who typically participate in getting organs through illegal means are the bad guys in the show, I think it helps give a negative connotation to this type of organ donation. Hopefully it helps promote the fact that as Shiro said, organ donation should be of free will and there should be equality among recipients - the opposite of the shady dealings these villains get up too.

Another type of thrills... 

In Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, a drama about two athletes who fall in love, things are going just a little bit too smoothly when Bok Joo’s father (Ahn Kil Kang) collapses, after showing us that (missing) dialysis was part of his day to day life. He now finds himself in need of a kidney, although there is no urgency in this matter. However, the time for the kidney transplant collides with Bok Joo's big tournament. Giving this show some much needed misunderstanding and drama between all its fluff. This by giving the son-in-law-to-be (Nam Joo Hyuk) a chance to shine for Bok Joo's father but keep a secret from Bok Joo  (Lee Sung Kyung) who becomes suspicious, very suspicious. 

Such a wonderful drama in so many different ways. It is nice to see the transplant in a very non-dramatic way. And I like how it happened to a supporting character, as we often only see this with leads in shows. But it helps show that anyone at any age may need a transplant, not just young twenty-somethings.

I love this drama, and this was the icing on the cake, having the transplant portrayed so naturally, without too much drama and again not confining the character getting it in to just being a patient, this even though he was a supporting character and could very well have become just an organ recipient. I agree with Starflakes about them showing a person who is over 20 and not evil receiving a transplant. Do you want to hear a secret? Most people who receive transplants are above the age of 40, maybe even passed the age of 50, at the age of 31 when I switched mine I was the second youngest person in the ward.

I don’t believe this writer’s ever been to medical school…

About how organ transplants are portrayed in medical dramas

Organ transplants are often present as side plots in the medical genre of Dramaland, these often serve some kind of moral tale, add spice and excitement or show how extremely competent the doctors are. 

Okay, we get it, writers do not generally go to medical school but sometimes (far from always! ), we can not help but wonder if it is too much to ask them to do some research, maybe visit a hospital? Read a book about basic human anatomy? We do not know, google? Just do something, anything, please. 

My Dear Guardian 

A drama about a doctor and an officer who cohabitate and fall in love. A bunch of stuff happens in and outside the hospital but there is one case where a person is in need of an organ and they seem to schedule the person's heart transplant about a week later. Making us wonder where the **** were they planning on getting that heart? Does China have a heart plantation that we do not know about? Is it the same one they mentioned  in the Pinoy drama Saying Goodbye? 

Doctor Stranger 

A drama that blesses us viewers with an immense amount of scenes of Lee Jong Suk wearing a hospital gown, as he initially starts out as a super-duper doctor in the very evil north. There, he gets to perform the most gruesome transplants, resulting in him becoming one of the world's most competent surgeons. While the morally questionable transplants are left to the North Koreans, the South is shown as more civil but not without its own issues, often having doctors stand in the way of important life saving surgery out of fear of taking responsibility. Back in the North anything seemed to go, as he was forced to transplant his girlfriend’s father’s kidney into his girlfriend. This results in her father’s death and a reason for her to hate him for all eternity… For those wondering, kidneys are generally only donated from either brain dead donors or donors who have gone through some kind of screening and regulations to ensure they survive the process.

Dr. Romantic 2 

A lovely drama about competent doctors in the countryside who fight for every patient while the big bad evil hospital board just wants profits. There is an interesting side story about an inmate in need of a kidney putting the viewers, doctors, and patients at the hospital’s values to the test. There just happens to be a brain dead patient at the hospital who is an eligible donor, that, guess what! happens to have a kidney that matches the inmate, what are the odds? We watch both doctors and family members struggle with the willingness to save the inmates life, and donate the organ… Also, the fact that a tiny hospital out in the countryside seems to have both the equipment and competence to actually perform a transplant is pretty astonishing. 

Hospital Playlist 2

A drama about a bunch of friends who also happen to be very competent doctors in a hospital where a so-called “Daddy long legs” makes sure no person in need gets untreated. In this drama there are several interesting portrayals of donation. One is that of a kid who needs a heart, another of a bunch of people in need of bits of liver. Very different portrayals of transplants and they are indeed handled very differently. As Lee Ik Jun (Jo Jung Suk ) is shown lecturing his patients from time to time, about what a gift they got and what not (yes this pissed Shiro off), the transplants the kids get are shown to very much go to the one who needs and matches the heart the best, and not by time waited, they also showed pretty human ways to react to that situation (yes, Shiro loved this). 

^{Doctors showing respect to the deceased}

Dr. Stranger was indeed entertaining, not very relatable but interesting. I loved how they showed the way lives are valued differently in Dr. Romantic. I Wanted to strangle Lee Ik Jun, but hug the mothers in Hospital Playlist 2.  Oh Dr. Stranger, you absolute disaster of a show. It’s certainly entertaining as Shiro mentioned, but the amount of questionable medical practices in that show is pretty insane. The liver transplant aspect was confusing, since the dad was actually supposed to get a liver from the daughter, but our lead chose to save the daughter by giving him one of the dad’s Kidneys. I’m no medical student myself, but that doesn't seem quite right.  If you want to see a Lee Jong Suk show where organ transplant is handled better (similarly to how it is in Dr. Romantic 2), you’re better off watching While You Were Sleeping instead (see down below). Dr. Romantic 2 is honestly my comfort show, and I love how they show discussions on the value of life and morality. It was interesting that the mom of the brain-dead donor could choose to not honor her status as an organ donor if she wanted, but it was heartwarming to see her decide to let it be in the end. I love how the donor is honored in this drama, in both her autonomy and how this show gives her an Honor Walk (a real-life occurrence where doctors line the hallways of a hospital while a donor is transported). I haven’t seen Hospital Playlist 1 or 2 (I know, I know, I really need to), but I did find a couple different articles that this show actually helped increase the amount of organ donors in South Korea eleven-fold. So it’s nice to see that this show had a beneficial impact.

To make our hearts bleed…

Making hearts bleed is not a very accurate term, but hey when in Dramaland you might as well try to use organs for symbolism. To be honest, quite a few of the organs portrayed in medicals are probably just there to make our hearts bleed too,  but they are not the only types of titles to make us feel stuff.

Dear Ex A movie about a boy whose father left him shortly before he died to live with his lover, and transferred his life insurance to the lover instead of the son. We find out that the lead's father had received a Liver, with the help of borrowed funds from loan sharks. A loan taken by his lover. Treatment can indeed be expensive, thus explaining why he moved the insurance to the lover. As you can understand the liver did not do the trick and the father/lover died due to complications, however the debt remained. Rainless Love in a Godless Land This drama is so complicated (and really good) that we are not even going to attempt to describe it for you. There are, however, two episodes that deal with organ transplants in a just as complicated way as the drama itself.  As Xie Tian Di / Timayacan (Joanne Tseng) is described as a person who was supposed to die and donate her heart to Lu Song En (Mimi Shao), a person that is shown as a Taiwanese heart sick version of Greta Thunberg. Made to make us (and Tian Di) believe she is more worthy of the heart, and the one who would make a lot better use of it, as the girl who could save the world, or whatnot… But now that Tian Di did not die, the world is pretty much doomed. This is done to guilt the female lead, made worse by montages and  Song En's monologues about wanting to live, wishing someone would die so she could live, why is their life worth more etc… However the show as a whole seems to convey that it is complicated, as the writer gave Orad (Fu Meng Bo) a voice of reason to balance it out pushing blame.  That would be so depressing, We are  guessing it would leave Shiro with about 18 months to live depending on when this gets published.  While You Were Sleeping  Another drama that is guested by the organ transplant, as the child of one of the supporting characters,  prosecutor Woo Joo's (Bae Hae Seon) child (Ko Woo Rim) is in need of a kidney. We admit it’s not as crazy as a heart, but having a kid faint does stand for some pretty powerful emotional drama.  Woo Joo has a more relatable approach to the seemingly never ending waiting (in Shiro's opinion). Again not in any way hoping for a certain someone to die, but more feeling hopeful whenever it rains as the chances for accidents increases giving her hope with each siren. (Yes, it is okay to laugh.)  The side story’s plot thickens as a victim of a vicious murder, disguised as an accident, leads the leads in to a dilemma: save 7 lives (including the kid) with organ donation and let the murderer go free, or let 7 people die (this is of course questionable) for the sake of an autopsy. Should a murderer go free because of the goodness of the donor? Luckily in the end our Male Lead is able to find a compromise, that sees both the murderer behind bars and the 7 people live on. The Soul-Mate A movie that follows the ghost of a police officer, Tae Jin ( Kim Young Kwang), in a coma, who can only be seen by Jang Soo (Ma Dong Seok), a judo instructor who just so happens to have a daughter who needs a heart. It seems she may finally get the heart she needs after waiting four years, only for the donor’s family to reject the transplant. While not the main focus of the plot, it’s still a large facet of it, and the need for Jang Soo’s daughter to have an organ proves quite tear jerking, especially since she’s so young.  This is furthered by the fact that, at the end of the movie, Tae Jin realizes he cannot wake up, and chooses to give his heart to Jang Soo’s daughter.  I loved the way this was portrayed in Dear Ex, showing new sides to organ transplants that are not always seen. I also like how fast the part about the transplant passes, as well as that it is not about a heart but one of the other important organs. when It comes to Rainless Love In a God Less Land if not for Orad's character,  I would have taken away a bunch of stars from this otherwise amazing drama as it showed both the common misinformation about transplants, as well as showed people on the waiting list as people who are waiting for a certain someone to die. The fact that someone had to die for me to live, was something that I got asked about quite a few times while waiting so to be clear:  I did not wish for anyone to die; people do not get sacrificed for transplantees to receive organs (unless it is part of the thriller plot with organ trafficking). I just waited for the system to make the best of a sucky situation. As some people (very few) die in a way that makes organ donation possible, while others live with organs that are no longer viable… End of story. So yes, those waiting are technically waiting for someone to die, but we do not choose who or when they die and I doubt many of us could live with the guilt of a person actually dying just for donation… so yes this bugged me a lot, it was actually this drama that made me want to write this article in the first place. As mentioned, I enjoyed While You Were Sleeping's approach to this much more. And yes, it made me feel stuff.   I have not seen The Soul-Mate, but do know that kids in need of organs tend to bring out the waterworks for people.  Full Reviews of:  Dear Ex, While You Were Sleeping, Rainless Love in a Godless Land  I haven’t seen Rainless Love in a Godless Land but it reminds me a bit of the Soul-Mate which shows a similar yet different side to the fact that someone has to die for someone else to get a heart. In the case of the Soul-Mate however, it provides a rare instance (admittedly fictional, since ghosts aren't really walking the streets), where someone near death can make the decision to give their heart away. It provides a moment of kindness to both the donor and donee, and I love that.  Although the transplant is far from the main focus, it's a more heartwarming side to such a grim topic. Especially since we get to see a brain dead patient make that choice.  While You Were Sleeping is my favorite drama of all time, so I'll admit that I may be a bit biased in how I talk about it, but I love how this show handles the subject of brain death. Our ML struggles with bringing new life to those in need, while also providing justice to someone whose life was cut unfairly short. The fact that one of the side characters is the mother of one of those waiting for an organ helps provide a new POV to the situation too. Her hesitancy to bring up her involvement in the matter to the ML, all while talking about what it's like to just wait for something to happen is heartbreaking. It really makes you root for a happy ending to this case.

The donor may be dead, but the cells remember!

Another concept relating to organs that occurs in some dramas is that of ‘cellular memory.’ While not a proven theory, as the name would suggest, ‘cellular memory’ is the hypothesis that cells in the body can store memories outside of the brain. In terms of organ transplants, this would mean that even after being transplanted into the recipient's body, the organ still retains ‘habits’ from the donor. (source)

You may recognise this concept from dramas such as The Spring Day of My Life, or those written by Choi Ran (Mouse and Black).

The trope as it is used in dramas is still in its relative infancy, hence why there aren’t many dramas about it, and why the idea is used in different ways in different dramas. It can be one that is romantic, or one that is horrifying. There is something nice about the idea that in this way, the donor almost lives on after death, but of course as we see in Dramaland, this can also be the source of a lot of frustration and confusion. 

This is an interesting hypothesis that can make for some pretty good drama but has the potential of getting Shiro's blood boiling, as she rather thinks of her heart as a spare part. ;)  

Transplanting the impossible… 

Mouse

It's one interesting ride of a drama with twists and turns about two boys with a so-called psychopath gene. Both are geniuses, however, one is supposed to have grown up to become a psychopathic serial killer, while the other supposedly grew up to be just the sweetest, kindest guy ever. The big question is who is who, for whose benefit and so on. One of the big twists in this drama is the presence of a brain transplant, there to confuse the viewers, and make our jaws drop! 

Oh, and for those curious about the J-dramas?

1. We have yet to have seen one.

2. There are some, but the gap on the amount of transplant dramas between Japan and other countries is relatively large.

3. This could be (but not necessarily) explained by this: 

It could be a reflection of the use of organ transplants in Japan, as compared to other medically advanced countries, Japan has an incredibly low rate of organ donations. 

Interestingly enough, there’s actually a couple identifiable reasons for this. First is cultural differences, specifically how one of the two main religions in Japan of Shinto views the body as well as death. In Shinto, the living body is seen as pure, and it's very important that people avoid ‘polluting’ their body. However, one of the main pollutants in Shinto is death. This means that there are negative connotations about the body and death which have been carried into Japanese culture. 

The other is a distrust in medicine (specifically pertaining to brain death), which arose due to the 1968 heart transplant performed by Juro Wada. While initially successful, the recipient died months later and Dr. Wada was investigated for murder of the donor who, due to how brain death in Japan was defined at the time, could’ve been considered still alive. While the murder charge was dropped, the reputation of organ transplants took a massive hit. 

Thus, while organ transplantation in Japan has been on the rise in the past four years or so, its numbers are still relatively low. Hence the lack of J-dramas surrounding the subject.

This information is mainly sourced from: The Ritual of Rights in Japan: Law, Society, and Health Policy by Eric A. Feldman - Chapter 5: Asserting Rights, Legislation Death

But here are some links to accessible online articles as well: Organ donation and Shinto, The Wada Transplant, Organ Transplantation in Japan. 

Or is the low  donation rate due to few dramas on the subject?

If you have seen a J-drama with organ transplants, please share it with us! 

Chart from: IRODaT  We have not forgotten about Taiwan, it was just not on the chart above. But it is about 4.5 according to this chart however it is raising according to this article.

Upcoming Shows

Everything That We Loved This drama will have a young and promising cast, so far we know of: Oh Se Hun from EXO as Go Yoo, Jang Yeo Bin as Han Soo Yeon, and Jo Joon Young as Go Joon Hee. The show seems to deal with changes in personality due to cellular memory:  "Go Yoo is too busy to date, and he’s preoccupied with protecting Joon Hee, but after he donates his kidney to Joon Hee, he becomes rivals in love with Joon Hee for the school’s No. 1 student and his first love So Yeon due to cellular memory syndrome."(MDL page, April 30th 2022) Source

Connect “A work that depicts the mysterious story of a man who has been deprived of a part of his body by organ hunters and becomes 'connected' with a person who has received an organ transplant.”  It is directed by Miike Takashi, “a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker.” (MDL page, April 30th 2022) of K-Dramalnd’s most amazing cast, with no other than Jung Hae In, Go Kyung Pyo,  Kim Hye Joon, and Jung Dong Hoon.   The drama is said to have finished filming and will probably air on Disney + sometime around May 2023 (Source) Source Everything That We Loved sounds cute, potentially annoying but cute. However the one I am looking forward to the most is Connect, being a fan of both Jung Hae In and Go Kyung Pyo as well as really liking Kim Hye Joon (all the confirmed leads) but not really knowing anything about Miike Takashi. I am hoping they do not mess this up for me, but it is not looking bright…  Everything That We Loved sounds like the perfect recipe for everything that makes cellular memory in dramas such a headache, although I am excited to see another drama use this concept.  I’ve been interested in Connect ever since it was first announced, especially since Jung Hae In and Go Kyung Pyo are involved. I also don’t know anything past that, and I’m looking forward to it. Furthermore, working on this article with Shiro has given me a totally new insight into the world of organ transplants and their portrayal in dramas. I’ll definitely be more alert about how it’s handled here than I have been with previous dramas, so I hope that it’s dealt with here in a respectful way. So it seems like there are a bunch of Kidney transplant dramas too look forward to, or dread.