Every year close to six lakh people die in India due to organ failure and lack of availability of organs for transplant. A solution to this problem is making more organs available for transplant. At present, 95% of all transplants come from living donations (related donors and unrelated donors) and a meagre 5% come from brain dead or deceased organ donors.  However, in the western world, 90% of donations come from brain dead donors and only 10 % happen from living donors. We will have a huge pool of organs in India if more people come forward for donating organs after death. The statistics of donation after death is very low in India due to various factors such as lack of awareness and misconceptions about organ donation among the public.

In an effort to promote deceased organ donation in India, MOHAN Foundation is conducting countrywide public awareness programmes and workshops on this very important subject. A half-day workshop on Deceased Organ Donation was organized at Acharya College of Nursing on 17^th July 2012 by MOHAN Foundation in Bangalore. Mr. Bino James, Project Manager of MOHAN Foundation, Bangalore addressed the students and explained to them the various concepts related to deceased organ donation. Around 80 students and faculty members from the college attended the programme and made the session interactive.

The main topics discussed during the programme were:

• Types of Organ Donation - Live and Deceased Donation
• Brain Death- how it’s different from natural death and coma
• Organs that can be donated after brain death and natural death
• Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994 and Rules related to declaration of brain death
• Introduction to the diagnosis and maintenance of a brain dead organ donor
• Statistics on the deceased organ donation programme in India and the need for accelerated efforts to strengthen the programme
• Role of Transplant Coordinators in Hospitals
• Transplant Coordinators’ Training Programmes organized by MOHAN Foundation
• Activities of MOHAN Foundation across the country to strengthen the Deceased Organ Donation programme
• Information on various helplines in the state for Eye, Body and Organ Donation