MOHAN Foundation invited as faculty to the 17^th Congress of the Asian Society of Transplantation (CAST 2021), Malaysia (Virtual Congress)

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  Dr. Sumana Navin, Course Director speaking on ‘Challenges in family donor conversations' at the Pre-Congress Workshop: Organ Donation & Procurement

  

  Simulation video on `Directed Donation` played at the congress

  

  Pre-Congress Workshop: Organ Donation & Procurement - Discussion Esther Tan Zhao Zhi (Chairperson), Hirman Ismail (Chairperson), Omid Ghobadi (Shaheed Beheshti Medical University, Iran), Sujatha Suriyamoorthi, MOHAN Foundation (India), Sumana Navin, MOHAN Foundation (India), Benita Padilla (National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippines), Peter Friend (University of Oxford, England)

  

  ‘Burnout amongst donor coordinators: is it real?' presented by Dr. Sumana Navin, Course Director at the State of the Art Symposium

  

  State of the Art Symposium - Donor and Procurement - Discussion Abdul Halim Abdul Gafor (Chairperson), Fan Kin Sing (Chairperson), Muhammad Iqbal Abdul Hafidz (Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malasyia), Marti Manyalich Vidal (University of Barcelona, Spain), Sumana Navin, MOHAN Foundation (India), Katayoun Najafizadeh (National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Iran), Tina Coco (DonateLife, Queensland, Australia)

  

  Mr. Britzer Paul Vincent, a former intern at MOHAN Foundation, pursuing PhD from the University of Bedfordshire, UK awarded the ‘Young Investigator Award'

  

  CAST 2021 appreciation certificates

  The 17^th Congress of the Asian Society of Transplantation (Virtual Congress) was held in collaboration with the Malaysian Society of Transplantation from 25 – 28 July 2021. CAST is the premier biannual scientific event in Asia which specifically focuses on various aspects of transplantation ranging from basic science, immunology, procurement, clinical and technical issues, to diagnostics, economics, and ethics.

   

  Dr. Sumana Navin, Course Director and Ms. Sujatha Suriyamoorthi, Manager-Information Systems, MOHAN Foundation were invited as speakers at the CAST 2021 and delivered the following lectures. The other speakers from India were Dr. Anant Kumar, Dr. Mohamed Rela, Dr. Pranjal R. Modi, Dr. Sandeep Guleria, Dr. Shiv Kumar Sarin, Dr. Subhash Gupta, Dr. Vasanthi Ramesh, Dr. Vivek Kute, and Dr. Vivekanand Jha.

   

  Challenges in family donor conversations (Pre-Congress Workshop: Organ Donation & Procurement) - 25^th July 2021 - Dr. Sumana Navin and Ms. Sujatha Suriyamoorthi

   

  Talking to the families of potential organ donors is one of the most challenging aspects of the deceased organ donation process. A multitude of reasons influence decision making on organ donation. Some of the challenges faced during family donor conversations were discussed in detail at the conference.  A few simulation videos were also used for discussion as part of the lecture.

  • Legal reasons (lack of clarity in discontinuation of cardio-respiratory support once brainstem death is certified)
  • Procedural reasons (delay in organ donation process in medico-legal cases since most are road traffic accidents)
  • Religious reasons - Scriptures prohibit donation | sanctity of intact body | rebirth
  • Media influence (negative / erroneous portrayals of organ donation)
  • Lack of transparency in organ allocation (organ distribution system and foreigners receiving transplants)
  • Mistrust of doctors/hospitals (concerns about proper testing of brainstem death)
  • Socio-cultural reasons (influence of community and extended family)
  • Influence of grief in decision making (handling emotions such as anger, guilt, denial)
  • Directed or conditional donation (lack of policy)

   

  Burnout amongst donor coordinators: is it real? (State of the Art Symposium)

  27^th July 2021 - Dr. Sumana Navin

  The session addressed burnout, components, contributors and strategies to counter burnout. A scoping review on burnout and compassion fatigue among organ and tissue donation coordinators was discussed in detail. A self-administered survey conducted with seven donor coordinators from different parts of the country was presented. Factors influencing burnout among the donor coordinators (personal factors, job responsibilities, promotion, salary and benefits, donor family factors) were addressed in the survey. Empowering transplant coordinators, opportunities for professional development and career growth, support and recognition from hospitals / professional bodies / government were the responses received for a question on ‘A Transplant Coordinator’s Wish list’.

   

  Mr. Britzer Paul Vincent, a former intern at MOHAN Foundation who received funding for a 3-year PhD from the University of Bedfordshire, UK in partnership with MOHAN Foundation made an oral presentation at the congress. It was based on his research on ‘Barriers toward deceased organ donor registration among Indians living in India and the United Kingdom: An integrative systematic review using narrative synthesis.’ He was one of six people who were awarded the ‘Young Investigator Award’ at CAST 2021.

  
  
  Source-Ms. Sujatha Suriyamoorthi & Dr. Sumana Navin