On November 13, 2021, Ms. Jaya Jairam was invited by Silver Surfer’s Club, a social impact organization with a vision to build a safe and enjoyable community for Seniors, to share knowledge about the concepts of organ donation to their members.
Ms. Rema Ramachandran, a member and Ms. Dipti Varma Narain, Founder and CEO of The Silver Surfers Club invited Ms. Jaya Jairam, Project Director at MOHAN Foundation Mumbai to address their members and help raise awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation.
Ms. Jaya Jairam began by asking the audience to share their thoughts about organ donation. That brought out varied views, including positives and fear about the topic, which underlined the need for raising awareness. Various concepts of organ donation were presented. What, why, how, who can donate were all discussed. Barriers to organ donation and myths surrounding the subject were discussed as well.
She then shared with the audience about the various ways in which one could get involved and support the cause. She also shared her touching story of how her mother donated one of her own kidneys to her, thereby not only saving her life, but also giving her much better quality of life.
Some questions asked included -
“Can someone with a weak eyesight donate their eyes?”
“How would MOHAN Foundation know when it is time?”
“Are organs stored”
Ms. Jairam answered all the questions and many from the audience felt motivated to take the pledge. They were all appreciative that the difficult topic has been explained in a smooth and easy manner.
After her talk, a couple – a kidney donor and a three time kidney recipient - was invited to share their experiences to the audience. Dr Sankaran Sundar, a well-known nephrologist joined the discussions as well and actively contributed to the Question - Answer session.
Around 35 persons participated in the event.
MOHAN Foundation is thankful to The Silver Surfers Club for taking such active interest in promoting the cause.