The Ethics of Transplantation	Ticket Deal See any three programmes in the Ethics of Transplantation season for £12/£7.50 concessions, or all six for £18/£12 concessions.
A three-day biomedical ethics film festival relating to the ethics of transplantation, organ sales and trafficking and using animal organs for transplantation. A discussion will follow each screening. Organised in partnership with the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics and the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland Branch of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
21 Grams Fri 10 Nov only Alejandro González Iñárritu | USA 2003 | 2h4m | 35mm | 15 Cast: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro, Danny Huston, Charlotte Gainsbourg. Sean Penn and Benecio Del Toro play two very different men linked through a grieving woman (Naomi Watts). Del Toro is an ex-con turned born-again Christian, a deeply conflicted man struggling to set right a terrible accident, even at the expense of his family. Penn is a cynical, philandering professor in dire need of a heart transplant, which he gets from the death of Watts' husband. 21 Grams slips back in forth in time, creating an intricate emotional web out of the past and the present that slowly draws these three together; the result is remarkably fluid and compelling.
DoNation: Kidney Transplant Fri 10 Nov only Britain 2005 | 1h | 35mm | 12A Professor Robert Winston introduces this hour-long special focusing on the real-life story of husband and wife Rajesh and Varsha as they undergo a living donor kidney transplant operation. The film follows their family going through the incredibly moving and worrying experience of living donation – with Varsha being the kidney donor and Rajesh the recipient. PLUS Life on the List Britain 2005, 50 min Two episodes from the documentary series telling the powerful and moving stories of those affected by donation – from the individuals and families waiting for organs to the medical teams that support them. PLUS SHORT The Law of Averages FirstLight, Britain 2005, 10 min The Law of Averages tells the story of the very ordinary Bloggs family. 'Every week's the same,' narrates 15 year old Joanna. But their lives change forever when Joanna's brother Joe is diagnosed with a serious kidney disease and requires a transplant. The film explores the angst and frustration the family goes through as Joe's parents are found to be unsuitable as donors and his sister is rejected as a donor for being too young. Unless a suitable donor kidney is found from someone who has died, Joe will die too.
Coma Sat 11 Nov only Michael Crichton | USA 1978 | 1h53m | 35mm | 15 Cast: Geneviève Bujold, Michael Douglas, Elizabeth Ashley, Rip Torn, Richard Widmark. Based on the best-selling novel by Robin Cook, Coma is a taut paranoid thriller. Dr Susan Wheeler (Geneviève Bujold) suspects her colleagues of foul play when her closest friend lapses into a coma following a routine operation. When Wheeler discovers a suspiciously frequent pattern of unexplained comas in her hospital, she becomes obsessed with finding an answer, even when it puts her own career and life in danger. The tension builds as Wheeler's investigation leads her to a secret corporation specializing in organ transplant experimentation and sale for profit.
The Transplant Trade Sat 11 Nov only Britain 2004 | 1h30m | 35mm | 12A Documentary The Transplant Trade follows the plight of people in different countries who are in desperate need of an organ transplant, including an 11-year-old girl in England who survives on kidney dialysis, and a man in India – also on dialysis – who has to pay for every treatment. Since the sale of organs is illegal, many people are driven to the black market, where the main beneficiaries are the brokers. Should the UK allow doctors to use organs from the deceased without prior permission? Should people be allowed to sell their organs under strict guidelines? For the people in this film, these are questions of life and death.
A World Apart Sun 12 Nov only Britain 2001 | 1h | BETA SP | 12A After two failed attempts in 1992, the possibility of using animals to supply organs for human transplant receded, and the procedure was halted in 1997. But as increasing numbers of patients die while waiting for a human kidney, the idea of xenotransplantion is again attracting interest. PLUS Man Made Pigs Britain 2001, 60 min Man Made Pigs looks at the secret science and controversial animal experiments being carried out in order to develop genetically humanised pig organs for transplantation into people. The organs come from pigs that have been genetically engineered to incorporate human genes in their DNA; the genes enable the animals to produce proteins that fool the human immune system and prevent the pig organs being instantly rejected.
Pig Heart Boy Sun 12 Nov only Britain 1999 | 2h30m | 35mm | 12A First shown as a 5-part drama series – a 13-year-old boy gets a transplanted pig's heart. Based on the novel of the same title by Marjorie Blackman.