D Tour: Rock-N-Roll Meets Organ Donation

April is National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month, so there’s no better time to revisit D Tour, the rock-n-roll film about bodily functions that premiered last season on Independent Lens.

D Tour follows the journey of Pat Spurgeon, a talented indie rock musician in the band Rogue Wave whose life becomes consumed with the care of his failing kidney. Spurgeon was born with just one kidney, which began deteriorating when he was in junior high school. He received a kidney transplant, but just as Rogue Wave starts to take off, that kidney begins to fail.

Spurgeon embarks on tour anyways, an exhausting prospect even for healthy musicians, but almost impossible for someone coping with dialysis, dietary restrictions, and the search for a living donor match. Spurgeon is part of the organ donor/recipient community, a special group whose lives become entwined in life and death. On one side are those who are saved through tragedy or by an incredible gift from a living donor; on the other are the families of the donors, who are offered a chance for hope and bittersweet resolution for their loss. D Tour addresses issues within the U.S. healthcare system, including the lack of affordable insurance, the importance of organ donation, and is filled with unexpected twists on the joys and sorrows of life. The film features performances by Rogue Wave, The Moore Brothers, John Vanderslice, Nada Surf, and Ben Gibbard. 

Find out more about organ donation >>
Learn more about the film D Tour >> 

Be sure and check out some of the upcoming screenings of D Tour below:
• Apr 28 – Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles @ 8pm *** Jim Granato & Donate Life Hollywood will be in attendance for Q&A 
• May 5 - Cinema Speakeasy: San Francisco @ 8pm ***Musician Pat Spurgeon & Filmmaker Jim Granato will be in attendance for audience Q & A