The NCC Officers Training Academy at Kamptee Cantonment , near Nagpur invited Dr. Ravi Wankhede Director of MOHAN Foundation, Nagpur Centre to give a talk on Deceased Organ Donation on 18^th April 2016. 170 trainee officers comprising Principals, professors, lecturers in Colleges from all over the country attended the session. At the beginning Brigadier S.B. Singh Deputy Commandant of the Academy introduced Dr. Wankhede to the audience a Veteran of the Armed Forces who had taken upon himself to contribute in spreading awareness of organ donation and transplantation. He said Dr. Wankhede was keen to talk to the trainee officers as they would be able to carry home and help spread awareness in their place of work and described the event as ‘Training the trainers’.              

Dr. Ravi Wankhede began by telling that he is very happy to talk to the NCC Officers who are volunteers of one of the greatest cohesive forces of the Nation, bringing together 13 lacks youth hailing from different parts of the country and molding them into united, secular and disciplined citizens of the nation. He foresaw added responsibility which perhaps was the greatest service of uniting mankind. He gave a PPP starting with informing the mission of MOHAN Foundation is to ensure that every Indian who is suffering from end stage organ failure be provided with the 'gift of life’ through a life-saving organ.

Information on THOAct, NOTTO, ROTTO, SOTTO and city based ZTCC to help carry out organ donation from patients who had suffered brain death. He explained in detail about brain death and the potential of the person donating several organs and tissues. He said, this was a routine practice in the developed countries more specifically Spain, Croatia, Britain, US, etc. Unfortunately the number of donations from brain dead patients in India was dismal. This was due to unawareness, religious taboos, superstitions pertaining to organ donation, etc. States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Kerala were way ahead than others in carrying out transplantations of organs from the Brain dead.

He said other States have to learn from these States so as to benefit the huge number of people who require kidney, liver, eyes, etc. He informed the audience that about 2 lakh kidneys are required every year, but just about 5,000 people get a kidney transplant. Over 90% of these cases are ‘live’ donors and 10% are deceased (cadaver) organ donors. In the developed countries the situation is reverse. He said NCC should be able to start with spreading awareness of eye donation to begin with and gradually other organs as well.

After the talk, Brigadier S.B. Singh asked the audience to spread the knowledge of organ donation in their States. He thanked Dr. Wankhede for sparing his time and also assured him that all future training programs will have a talk on organ donation.