On 10th Feb 2014-02-11, Rotary Club of Madras Midtown invited MOHAN Foundation to participate in an awareness session on Organ Donation at Taj Connemara, Chennai. The programme was presided by the Mr. Krishna R V, President of the club. He started the meeting by reciting a verse from Bhagvad Gita that described how the soul changes its covering from one life to another and that the body has no value once it is no more.  Dr. Hemal Kanvinde, Q & A Officer of MOHAN Foundation and Mrs. Saroj Dhawan, volunteer represented MOHAN Foundation and spoke at the session.  Rtn. Mythili Muralidharan Director-Health (City) requested all members to support the cause of organ donation.

Dr.  Hemal Kavinde discussed the following with the members of the club:

•  Need for organ donation and transplantation
• Difference between Brain death and Natural death and coma
• The process of donation and the organs and tissues that can be donated
• Importance of  grief counsellors and their training
•  Patient waitlists and organ donation registries
• Importance of donor card
• MOHAN Foundation website and toll free helpline as a source of information
• Areas where Rotary club can help in promoting deceased organ donation

There were 12 members present at the meeting and they raised various queries regarding

1. Whether family consent is essential for organ donation
2. The patient waitlist maintained by the state government
3. How to confirm brain death has occurred.
4. Why there are so few donors.

All the above queries were answered patiently by Dr.  Hemal.  One member signed the donor card. 4  club members had pledged their organs earlier.