On September 22, 2020, MOHAN Foundation was invited to conduct an online awareness session on organ donation for the students of Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary (SGT) University, Gurugram. The session was an initiative of Ms. Shipra Kumari, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Commerce and Management (FCAM), SGT University. Ms. Preeti Goswami was the contact person from the Foundation’s side. The session was a part of the 6 days (Sep 21-26, 2020) “Orientation Programme” for the students of SGT University organized by the “Faculty of Commerce and Management”, SGT. Dr. Muneet Kaur Sahi, Programme Manager, MF Delhi-NCR was invited as a guest speaker to speak on the topic of organ donation.
SGT University came into existence by the Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Act No. 8 of 2013 making educational opportunities available to all segments of the society under the parasol of Dashmesh Educational Charitable Trust, which was founded in 1999 with the holy cause of propagating the message of Shree Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the great philosopher and social reformer which says “spread of learning is the best service to mankind”. In fact, the seeds for its magnificent growth were sown way back in 2002 with the establishment of the SGT Dental College.
Ms. Shipra attended one-week training on “Transplant Coordination” organized by MOHAN Foundation in April 2016. This was the turning point in her life that changed her thought process and inspired her to be a social change maker by spreading awareness on health and organ donation. The training had the greatest impact on her life and after a long gap of 13 years, she started her studies again and completed her MBA (Hospital Administration) in 2016. Since then, she has been an advocate for organ donation. She never misses an opportunity to discuss the topic of organ donation with the members of society, with her students and faculty members.
At the beginning of the session, Ms. Anushree Acharya, Assistant Professor, FCAM, SGT University welcomed all the participants and gave a brief introduction about the session. She informed that the session was organized as part of the ongoing 6 days orientation programme with a theme of “Gyanarjan” means acquisition of knowledge. She told the participants that due to uncertain times because of COVID 19 and subsequent lockdown, people especially the young generation of India were very keen to know the workings of healthcare sector and also looking at career opportunities in this sector. Ms. Anushree informed the students that the session was on a very important topic i.e, Organ Donation-Gift of Life, which would enhance their knowledge on organ donation. She said that to donate organ is the biggest act of humanity. She then introduced Dr. Muneet and invited her to begin the session.
Dr Muneet spoke about her association with MOHAN Foundation and explained why organ donation has become the need of hour. She began the session by asking the participants “Why do we need to donate organs? She informed the participants that more than 2 lakhs Indians require organ transplants annually and less than 10% are able to receive timely help. In every 10 minutes, a new name is added on the waiting list for organs in India.
She explained the basic concepts of organ donation and transplantation with the help of a simple powerpoint presentation. The following topics were explained in detail:
Dr. Muneet asked the participants a very important question “why should a healthy living person donate his/her organs to save the life of his/her loved one while the dead are either being buried or burnt, and precious organs are being wasted. She encouraged the students by telling them that youth can play a major role in advocating organ donation and they have the power to raise their voice and make a change in the society.
While on the subject of brain death, a short movie was shown to give clarity on the subject and to enumerate the difference between coma and brain death. The topics of brain death certification and role of brain death committee was also explained. Myths around organ donation were also discussed.
The participants enthusiastically contributed to the discussion and asked many queries. To name a few:
Dr. Muneet explained the importance of eye donation and the whole process of eye donation. She also explained how one could pledge to be an organ donor.
At the end of the session, she also informed the students about MOHAN Foundation’s one week and one-year training course on Transplant Coordination and about the fastest growing healthcare jobs in the field of Transplant Coordination.
Ms. Anushree gave vote of thanks. She said that the session was very informative and encouraged the students to think about the good cause and to pledge for organ donation.
All the students were very happy to attend the session. The session had huge impact on some of the students so much so that 2 students of MBA (Hospital Administration) approached Ms. Shipra immediately and said they were very much interested in undergoing one-week training on “Transplant Coordination” whenever it is organized by MOHAN Foundation in future.
Feedback from few students:
“The session was very informative and fruitful”- Ankit Sharma, 3rd semester, MBA (Hospital Administration)
“Wonderful session. Lots of clarity and knowledge gained related to organ donation”- Kajal Tanwar, 3rd semester, MBA (Hospital Administration)
“Such an amazing session and the speaker. Wonderful experience”- Priyanshi Dhingra, 3rd semester, MBA (Hospital Administration)
At the end of the session, Ms. Shipra shared a heart touching and beautiful poem which she had written on organ donation. To mention few lines from the poem:
“Ang Daan hai jeewan daan
Ang Daan hai karya mahaan
Ang daan jo karte hai
Marke bhi nahi marte hai
Ang daan jo karte hai
Milta hai unko samaan”
The session went on for 45 minutes and close to 85 participants attended the session.
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