Skip to main content

Would you sell your kidney for $100,000? | Ada, Ep. 2

193,748 Views

387 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

This is episode 2 of the animated series, “Ada.” This 5-episode narrative follows the young library assistant Ada as she juggles two worlds: her daily mundane reality and the future she vividly imagines for all humanity. Traveling through her visions of potential futures, Ada grapples with the ethical and social implications of new technologies and how they could shape the world.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

According to the Health Resources & Services Administration, 103,000 people are waiting for organ transplants; 17 of them die each day. The greatest discrepancy between need and available donors is for kidneys, the need of which is caused by hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, among other diseases. Although advances have been made in the field, such as new perfusion solutions and methods, use of AI allocation algorithms, and new technology for non immunosuppressive transplants, these developments do not solve the problem without the requisite number of transplantable kidneys.

At least 64% of Americans polled support a system wherein organ donors receive compensation, a system which has been banned since the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984. To read more about the arguments for and against such compensation, check out this Vox article. For a detailed description of the experience of a donor, read on here. If you'd like to donate or join the registry, click through to the National Kidney Registry.

Watch the Ada series from the beginning with episode one.

Next Section »

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Created by Elizabeth Cox
  • Written by Elizabeth Cox
  • Directed by Elizabeth Cox, Kirill Yeretsky
  • Producer Brooke Brewer
  • Produced by Should We Studio
  • Voice acting Rachel Rial, Aric Floyd, Ashlei Stevens
  • Composer Stephen LaRosa
  • Sound Designer Weston Fonger
  • Art & Animation Director Kirill Yeretsky
  • Technical Director Wing Luo
  • Lead Storyboard Artist Wing Luo
  • Storyboard Artist Chris Mauch
  • Lead Background Artist Nuri Keli
  • Background Artist Lauren Wendell
  • Character Designer Kirill Yeretsky, Wing Luo, Danny Schwartz, Samantha Chitacapa, Pedro Delgado
  • 3D Animator Nathalia Lemotte, Caleb Lemotte, Hans Carrasco
  • 2D Animator Elmar Aleskerov
  • 3D Modeling and Rigging Diego Murphy, Anton Tokar, Baros Studio
  • Rendering Diego Murphy
  • Compositor Elmar Aleskerov
  • Editor Phoebe Brooks
  • Post-Production Sound Services Vinyl Mix
  • Audio Producer Angelina Powers
  • Mixer Weston Fonger
  • Research Assistant Tuğba Zeynep Şen
  • Fact-Checker Charles Wallace
  • Expert Consultant Dylan Matthews, Abie Rohrig, Josh Morrison, Luke Semrau
  • Executive Producer Elizabeth Cox, Kirill Yeretsky

More from Troubleshooting the World