On July 25, 2024, the MOHAN Foundation (MF) conducted a virtual organ donation awareness session for employees of Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Ltd., SPMCIL, SBI General Insurance, and the Bank of Baroda, Varanasi branch. Organized by the Dr. Reddy Foundation for Health Education (DRFHE), this session was part of a series planned for the week for their corporate social responsibility (CSR) partners during Organ Donation Month as part of the "Angdaan Jan Jagrukta Abhiyaan," an initiative by the National Organ & Tissue Transplantation Organization (NOTTO), Ministry of Health, Government of India. Dr. Muneet Kaur Sahi, Programme Manager at MOHAN Foundation, Delhi NCR, served as the resource person.

 

There were two sessions: the first was attended by employees of Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Ltd. and SPMCIL, followed by the second session for employees of SBI General Insurance and the Bank of Baroda, Varanasi branch.

 

Dr. Muneet was welcomed by Mr. Pratik Tripathy, Awareness for Life (AFL) Partner, DRFHE. She began by assessing participants' understanding of organ donation and then explained the concepts of organ donation and transplantation using a PowerPoint presentation. The following aspects of organ donation were covered:

 

• What organ donation is and why it is important

• Who can be an organ donor

• Explanation of live and deceased donors

• Brain death and establishing brain death

• The Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994

• What can be donated in cases of brain death and circulatory death

• Eye donation and steps required to preserve corneas after death

• Body donation

• Contraindications to organ donation

• The role of the MOHAN Foundation

• How individuals can contribute to this noble cause

• Myths and facts about organ donation

• Differences between coma and brain death

• Volunteer training programs

 

She also explained that while being HIV-positive is generally a contraindication, organ donation can occur between an HIV-positive donor and recipient.

 

Dr. Muneet shared two donor stories: the first was Mr. Tejram, an 88-year-old former chairman of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, who was certified brain dead and whose kidneys and liver were fit for donation, making him the oldest organ donor in India. The second example was Baby Hope, the youngest organ donor from the United Kingdom, who lived for 74 minutes, and her kidneys and liver cells were donated.

 

She added that a person's driving license can include a provision to be an organ donor. Dr. Muneet also described the opt-in and opt-out consent systems followed in the world, noting that India follows the opt-in system. She mentioned that August 3 is celebrated as Indian Organ Donation Day annually.

 

Participants actively engaged in discussions and posed several questions, such as:

• During unforeseen events like road traffic accidents, is family consent required to retrieve organs?

• Is an elderly organ donor's medical history taken into consideration?

 

Close to 142 participants attended the virtual awareness session.