On July 17, 2024, MOHAN Foundation conducted an organ donation awareness session at the Roadways Training Workshop in Rishikesh. The session was organized at the invitation of Mr. Suresh Saini, a retired bus driver and member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Mr. Sanchit Arora, Project Leader at MF, stationed at AIIMS Rishikesh, served as the session's speaker. The event was attended by bus drivers, conductors, and staff from the Rishikesh bus stand.

The session began with Mr. Arora inviting participants to share their knowledge about organ donation. He then provided detailed information on the current status of organ donation in India, covering the following topics:

• What is organ donation, and why is it important?

• Who can be an organ donor?

• Explanation of live and deceased donors

• Organ donation during life and after death

• Brain death

• Differences between coma and brain death

• Eye donation, skin donation, and steps required to preserve corneas after death

• Whole body donation

• Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, and Rules, 2014

• Living kidney transplantation facility at AIIMS Rishikesh

• How individuals can contribute to this noble cause

• Organ donor card

• Myths and facts about organ donation

• Role of the MOHAN Foundation and helpline number

Participants shared their experiences, including one who mentioned that he had already registered for whole-body donation and another who had received a kidney from his father and pledged to donate organs at PGI Chandigarh.

The session was highly interactive, with participants enthusiastically contributing to the discussion and asking numerous questions, such as:

• Can organ donation be done at home?

• In living donation, can someone other than a family member donate organs?

• How does the hospital team reach out to the family at the time of death?

• Is it possible for a person to recover from brain death?

• In cases of on-the-spot death due to a road traffic accident (RTA), which organs can be donated and for how long are they suitable for donation?

Approximately 20 participants attended the session.