This film is part of Free
A Gift of Life
Government-sponsored documentary exploring the challenges and triumphs of organ donation.
Overview
This documentary highlighting the challenges and triumphs of organ donation within the NHS was made for a Central Office of Information-sponsored series called Towards a Better Life. Focusing on patients undergoing kidney and cornea transplants, the film acknowledges the bereavement underlying many procedures. Scenes of healthy transplant recipients, partying with their surgeon years on from their surgery, effectively bring home the human achievement of donation and the lives that could not have been lived without it.
This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Related
Your Very Good Health Your Very Good Health
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1948 9 mins
Long before the βCharley Saysβ campaign of the 1970s and β80s, another cartoon Charley was used to demystify the newly created NHS.
The Dentist The Dentist
1993 15 mins
This 1993 profile of local dentist, Brian Harvey, shows how he splits his time between a local practice and an advisory role - while leaving ample time to socialise at the local rotary club.
Life in Her Hands Life in Her Hands
Instructional film/TV programme 1951 55 mins
Kathleen Byron - of Black Narcissus fame - stars in one of the most ambitious recruitment films ever made.
Natural Born Smoker Natural Born Smoker
Public Information Filler 1985 1 mins
A sense of 1980s stylistic sheen filters through this sci-fi-tinged anti-smoking advert.
The Strange Case of Penny Allison The Strange Case of Penny Allison
Government sponsored film 2002 18 mins
Imelda Staunton and Hugh Laurie as you've not quite seen them before: in a comedy training video for Britainβs National Blood Service.
Polio - Diagnosis and Management Polio - Diagnosis and Management
Government sponsored film 1948 59 mins
Britainβs first Polio epidemic in 1947 demanded a coordinated response, and this film was a key part of readying postwar doctors for a new fight
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archiveβs role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.