Child's Play raises over $1 million so far

I know the sentiment, but it's important to point out that these donations do NOT go towards actual medical services.

Child's Play funds and wishlist donations are (AFAIK) used to make children's stays in hospitals more tolerable and pleasant - by providing them with necessities and niceties that make being ill not as awful.

Still a very worthy cause, but not medical research or treatment, so you won't be "saving" any lives :)

Actually, some research has shown that patients who are less anxious before an operation and after an operation will have better recovery, with quicker healing and less time spent in hospital after the operation.

If you wish to be morbid, you could say that then decreases the risk of getting a life threatening nosocomial infection as less time in the hospital, and anxious patients will have less effective immune response while in the hospital.

Going by the idea that children may be extremely anxious before an operation, and do not react well to pain after an operation, if they have gaming to distract them while in hospital, it could be better for their well being after an operation.

Even if it doesn't save any lives, medicine is about more than saving a life, and if you consider the patient in a more than just the physical treatment, but also the psychological and social well being, then Child's Play helps in ways that hospitals normally may be ill-equipped to do.

I hate kids.












Joking

Saying that there are "better causes out there" is a pretty lazy way to go about charity. The truth is, Penny Arcade is doing a great thing. Sure, you can donate your money to the American Cancer Society, but why not just do both? I have no problem donating a fair amount of money to every charity that I think deserves my hard-earned cash; there's no need to pick favorites when you're being charitable, because every little bit helps.

"I feel that there are better causes out there than providing games for sick children."

that may be true, but it is their charity (and a damn good one), if you feel that the money could go to better use, no one is stopping you from founding your own charitable organization.