On October 9, 2024, the Telemedicine Society of India (TSI) – Uttarakhand Chapter, in collaboration with MOHAN Foundation, held an online webinar on Deceased Organ Donation. The event was honoured by the presence of Prof. Meenu Singh, Director at AIIMS Rishikesh and President of TSI Uttarakhand, along with Dr. Umashankar, Honorary Secretary of the National TSI.

The Telemedicine Society of India, established during the 2001 National Conference on Telemedicine in Lucknow, aims to promote telemedicine across India, using advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, and cyber-physical systems to create a connected and comprehensive healthcare ecosystem. The organization envisions tele-health as the “New Normal,” ensuring accessible, affordable, citizen-centered healthcare, covering preventive, curative, emergency, and rehabilitative care across allopathic and AYUSH systems.

The webinar featured presentations by Dr. Sunil Shroff, Managing Trustee of MOHAN Foundation; Ms. Pallavi Kumar, Executive Director of MOHAN Foundation NCR; and Dr. Vikas Kumar Panwar, Associate Professor in the Department of Urology at AIIMS Rishikesh. The session drew an audience of resident doctors, TSI members, MOHAN Foundation staff, AIIMS Rishikesh hospital staff, and medical students.

Dr. Ankur Mittal, Head of the Department of Urology at AIIMS Rishikesh and Honorary Secretary of TSI Uttarakhand, opened the event and moderated the discussion, emphasizing the importance of deceased organ donation in Uttarakhand.

Key Presentations and Discussions

Dr. Sunil Shroff presented global statistics on kidney transplants, noting that living kidney donations account for only a fraction of the global need. Around 40,000 living kidney transplants are conducted worldwide, with 25% in India and 33% in South Asia. He highlighted that deceased kidney transplants in India have risen by more than 30% over the last decade, though only 3% of global deceased donor kidney transplants occur here. Dr. Shroff discussed how technology can be a powerful enabler in organ donation, citing successful state organ-sharing registries, MOHAN Foundation’s 24/7 helpline, and crowdfunding support platforms like Milaap and Ketto.

He introduced MOHAN Foundation’s Ambassador Program, the Anudaan platform for affordable transplants, online courses for medical professionals, and digital tools such as AI-based prediction models for transplant outcomes. He emphasized AI’s role in matching transplants and supporting organ donation, a technology adopted by international registries like UNOS.

Ms. Pallavi Kumar provided an overview of organ donation, emphasizing that individuals of any age, race, or religion can become donors. Her presentation covered essential topics:

• What organ donation entails and its significance

• Eligibility and contraindications for donation

• Types of organs that can be donated during life and posthumously

• Eye and skin donation protocols and preservation techniques

• MOHAN Foundation’s role in promoting awareness

• Myths and facts about organ donation

Ms. Kumar noted that 95% of India’s transplants are living transplants, with most brain death cases resulting from road accidents. She shared her experience of donating her father’s corneas after his death, underscoring the simplicity of corneal donation and advocating for family discussions on organ donation.

Dr. Vikas Panwar addressed advanced clinical procedures in transplantation and the challenges posed by limited organ availability. He provided an overview of organ donation in India, focusing on topics like:

• The need for deceased organ donation

• Kidney transplant waiting lists in Asia

• Renal transplants in Uttarakhand

• Brain death and its distinction from coma

• Legal aspects under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994

Interactive Session and Participant Engagement

The session encouraged active engagement, with participants posing questions on AI use in government healthcare, opt-in organ donation systems like Spain’s, and the eligibility of diabetic and HIV/HCV patients for organ donation. Other queries involved the ability of parents to make organ donation decisions for their mentally disabled children.

Throughout the session, emotional videos on organ donation were shown to deepen the audience's connection to this cause. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Meenu Singh, encouraging participants to consider organ donation as a way to continue helping others beyond their lifetime.

The webinar, attended by nearly 80 participants, provided valuable insights and inspired many to pledge as organ donors.