This past week has been pretty crazy and I haven't had much chance to blog this week but this article has lingered with me. The Reuters Photography blog has some really spectacular photos and stories. It's an inside look at photojournalism in the big leagues. Usually, it's the articles about Iraq or Afghanistan that grab my attention, but this one did too. In this article Fabrizio Bensch documents the process of harvesting organs from a donor. We all think about donating organs when we die at least once. Some of us make that decision and some of us don't. Regardless of our decision I think that it is really difficult to conceptualize the decision to donate part of our body to someone else...most likely a stranger. This piece pulls back the curtain and lets you see what happens when you make the decision to be a donor from a mechanical perspective. The contrast between the warm and generosity of the donor and the cold, clinical process of collecting the donor's gift make you squirm.
I want to make it clear that I hold absolutely nothing against the doctors collecting the organs. They are doing their job and their work will most likely save a life. It's just remarkable to see this part of the process of organ donation.
Fabrizio also describes the special challenges he faces as he documents the process. It is a fine line between documenting the process and being intrusive into a very personal and sensitive event. This article just left me sitting there thinking for a while after I finished it. I think it will make you stop and take notice also.
Eyewitness to a death - Reuters Photographers
Technorati Tags: photojournalism, reuters, organ donation
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