27th November 2010: On the occasion of the 6th World Organ Donation Day, Dr. Sumana Navin of MOHAN Foundation was invited by the Rotary Club of Madras Southwest to address the Rotarians on organ donation. Rtn. Bharat Kumar K Shah, President, welcomed the gathering and Rtn. Vijay Gopal Reddy, introduced Dr.Sumana Navin. Rtn. Vijay Gopal Reddy has, in fact, been doing yeoman service in the field of organ donation since 1995 when the “Transplantation of Human Organs” Act was adopted by the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been raising awareness and distributing Donor Cards since then.
Dr. Sumana Navin took the members through the rising incidence of multi-organ failure in India and the need for life-saving organs. She also explained the concept of brain death to them. The most common cause of brain death in India is road traffic accidents. There are about 1,14,000 fatalities from road traffic accidents annually, 67% of which are due to brain death. However, there can be a positive outcome from this in the form of organ donation. All the tissues (eyes, skin, bone etc.) and organs (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas) can be donated when there is brain death. “Recycle yourself” needs to become the new mantra. Dr. Sumana said that MOHAN Foundation has been working tirelessly now for more than a decade on public awareness campaigns on organ donation and in felicitating families of deceased organ donors. It is also involved in training grief counselors. She ended with a quotation from Helen Keller on how the contribution of an individual can make a difference to society – “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”
Dr. Sumana said that meeting Rtn. S.K. Nathan was especially inspiring because he had not lost his zest for life even at 89, and at the same time he was equally determined to donate his body! She thanked Rtn. Bharat Kumar Shah, President, Rtn. PVR Krishna Rao, Treasurer, Rtn. Rajalal Nichani, Chairman- Programs, and all the members of the Rotary Club of Madras Southwest for their support.
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