Both Emmerdale and Coronation Street are facing a backlash from a major charity group due to their handling of their kidney storylines.

One of Emmerdale‘s biggest storylines recently has been Joe Tate’s illness, revealed to be chronic kidney disease (CKD).

He’s been working with a dodgy doctor to find a suitable donor, first secretly drugging Noah Dingle to test him and, as of this week, going through with a plan to kidnap Caleb Miligan and go through with an illegal transplant.

Coronation Street recently aired a storyline in which Carla Connor, who had a transplant in 2018, contracted sepsis and, after a short course of dialysis at home, received a transplant from her brother Rob Donovan.

Kidney Research UK, the country’s leading charity dedicated to learning about the disease, has written an open letter expressing “concern over recent soap storylines involving kidney disease” and noted that through “accurate portrayals, there is a distinct opportunity to change the story for the millions of people CKD affects”.

Writing about the Emmerdale storyline, the charity’s executive director Lucy Sreeves said: “While we appreciate dramatic flair, the portrayal of theft of organs as a viable option is implausible, illegal and dangerous…

“The storyline risks undermining public confidence in the transplant system at a time when we desperately need more people to consider living kidney donation.

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“It is also a missed opportunity to spread positive awareness when six people in the UK d!e every week waiting for a kidney transplant. We cannot support storylines that could negatively impact efforts to increase the availability of organs for transplant.”

Regarding Coronation Street‘s storyline, Sreeves said that the charity is similarly “disappointed that key aspects of real-world transplantation — such as the extensive compatibility testing, waiting times, and emotional complexities of the process — were sidelined for dramatic effect.

“This has caused frustration within the kidney patient community, many of whom face years of uncertainty, life-limiting dialysis treatment and complex medical procedures before receiving a transplant.”

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Sreeves’ letter did note that EastEnders has taken a “more considered” approach in Nugget Gulati’s kidney storyline, stating that it gets across “some of the realities of dialysis and its impact on daily life.”

Although the charity called the story “a step in the right direction”, it added that “there is still room for improvement.”

Following the criticisms, Kidney Research UK asked the writers and producers of the soaps to take up an offer to connect with medical experts, researchers, and patients in order to more accurately portray life with kidney disease in the future.

Digital Spy has reached out to representatives for both Coronation Street and Emmerdale seeking comment.