On March 6, 2025, the MOHAN Foundation conducted an awareness session on organ donation at the Traffic Police Headquarters, Todapur, New Delhi. The session was led by Ms. Simran Anand, Programme Officer, MOHAN Foundation, NCR.
To ensure effective engagement and understanding, Ms. Simran structured the session into seven phases.
The session began with a presentation on MOHAN Foundation, established in 1997 as an NGO dedicated to promoting deceased organ donation in India. Ms. Simran actively engaged the audience by testing their knowledge and addressing common misconceptions about organ donation. The objective was to dispel myths and highlight the life-saving potential of organ donation.
The next phase covered key aspects such as the definition of organ donors (living and deceased), recipients, and the transplant process. The role of NOTTO (National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation) in organ allocation and regulation was explained, along with the legal age for donation (18+) and the importance of consent. She also clarified the differences between living donors and deceased donors.
A visual presentation followed, explaining brain death and distinguishing it from coma by its irreversible nature due to brainstem failure. Ms. Simran addressed common queries, such as why brain-dead donors remain on ventilators, clarifying that it allows organs to remain viable for transplantation.
The legal and ethical framework surrounding organ donation was discussed, emphasizing the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, which prohibits organ trading and ensures donor rights. The significance of brain death protocols and their role in facilitating organ donation was highlighted, along with the impact of organ donation, with examples such as one eye donor restoring vision to two individuals and hand transplants restoring independence to recipients.
Ms. Simran then elaborated on MOHAN Foundation’s key initiatives, including training transplant coordinators to counsel families and facilitate donations, providing a 24/7 helpline service for organ donation queries, and conducting public awareness campaigns to normalize organ donation in society.
Addressing common myths, she dispelled concerns about body mutilation by explaining that organ retrieval is a respectful surgical process. She clarified that donor families are not burdened with hospital costs and reassured the audience that transplant teams are independent of emergency care teams. She also emphasized that Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity support organ donation as a noble act and provided scientific and ethical perspectives to counter myths related to rebirth.
The session concluded with a reflection on the altruistic nature of organ donation, drawing parallels with the concept of karma. Ms. Simran shared real-life case studies, including a child who received a life-saving liver transplant and a grandmother’s corneas restoring vision to two individuals.
The session, attended by approximately 60 participants, ended with an interactive Q&A, allowing attendees to clarify doubts and gain a deeper understanding of organ donation. The session successfully balanced technical knowledge with emotional impact, reinforcing MOHAN Foundation’s vision of a world where no life is lost due to the unavailability of organs.
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