Imagine that all you need to live is a new heart. The surgeons are standing by. People are dying all around you. The procedure is simple. But no one has ticked ‘donate my organs’ on their card. So you wait. Then you die. This happens every day. This documentary explores the dilemma. Many countries are starting to adopt ways to increase organ donation. For example, if you sign up to donate your organs after you die then you can be entitled – in life – to a ‘fast track’ for if life throws you a curve-ball and YOU end up needing a donor. It would also fastrack your immediate family members and loved ones. Unfair, you say? Why? Think about it.

Through reconstructions this dramatic film explores the dilemmas, myths and prejudices which arise for those faced with the decision to donate.

There are currently over twenty thousand patients waiting on organs or facing almost certain death. In Europe, this issue isn’t spoken about and many people are likely not signing up for organ donation for the simple matter that they are not aware of the urgent need.

This Danish film sheds light on the sensitive subject, following the experiences of everyone involved in the process: from the young girl injured in a traffic accident and declared brain dead, to the relatives forced to confront the decision of organ donation and the patient receiving a new heart and a “new life”. It also addresses the difficult question of religion, where many are against the desecration of the corpse. However, some, like Judaism, are starting to make exceptions for the good of the living and the advancement of medical science.

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