Session 1, 22^nd July 2017:

A total of 24 people attended the first session which was held on the 22^nd of July. The group consisted of around 15 medical students from Yerala Medical College (Kharghar) and rest were wanting to volunteer on individual capacity. 

The organ donation pre-awareness survey forms were distributed before starting the session. Following this there was a session of mind mapping in which the participants were asked to pen down the first thought that comes in their mind when they think about organ donation. Giving back, courageous, life beyond death, etc., were a few thoughts that popped in the minds of the volunteers when they thought about organ donation. All this was then written down by Mr.Amit Shenoy and the various aspects discussed.

The concept of organ donation was explained by Mrs. Jaya Jairam and Mr. Amit Shenoy which revolved around the following concepts: Organ Donation and Transplantation, Types of organ Donation, the process, State-wise programs, myths and relevant facts. This session helped the volunteers to understand the concept of organ donation in depth.

The volunteers were then asked to write a thank you letter to a donor family putting themselves in the shoe of an organ transplant recipient and thanking the family for the gift of life that they gave to them by choosing to donate the organs of their loved one. This activity was conducted so that the volunteer understands what an organ transplant recipient undergoes and how he/she feels after receiving an organ transplant. The volunteers had written heart touching letters and all the volunteers read out the letter written by them in front of all the other volunteers.

Towards the end of this session, Dr. Arvind Shenoy, a liver transplant recipient, shared his liver transplant story on how he discovered that his liver had given up, the waiting period, and life after transplant. Dr. Arvind had a Deceased donor liver transplant on the same day last year. We had also invited Ms.Rinkle Gandhi to speak about her brother, Raj Gandhi, a train accident victim and a hero in the true sense, who saved the lives of 8 others after he died of brain death. We concluded the first day by distributing the feedback forms.