Last month the Nonfiction Society featured Rare Genomics Institute (RG) in a science documentary, which aired in German public television on September 13th, 2018. The documentary highlights “Medical research on the move, where organizations take initiative instead of blaming failing healthcare gaps or the pharmaceutical industry.” It is completely in German, but below is a synopsis of what RG contributed.

The documentary began by talking about the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS. It garnered over $100 million dollars of donations within a month of their campaign. During that time frame, over 28 million people joined the challenge by posting, commenting or liking a challenge post, Facebook said. Famed leaders and celebrities including Bill Gates, Charlie Sheen and Cristiano Ronaldo produced videos with about 16 million in views on YouTube at the time.

Through interviews with scientific experts worldwide, the documentary aimed to show the novel ways of funding medical research. They highlighted RG’s efforts for patients with rare diseases and interviewed Romina Ortiz, COO and VP of Patient Advocacy, to learn more about the Amplify Hope Study and current efforts by RG.