Police personnel play a vital role in the organ donation process. The Tamil Nadu police has contributed significantly in facilitating the deceased organ donation process in the state. But continuous sensitization programmes for police personnel are necessary to enlighten them on their role in the organ donation process. MOHAN Foundation has taken an initiative to conduct such programmes.

 MOHAN Foundation was invited to give an awareness talk to the special police trainees at  Veerapuram on 28^th May 2013. A group of 487 special police trainees, Sub-inspectors and a Special Drill trainer gathered for the talk.

Mr. Johnson, Transplant coordinator addressed the Special Police Trainees and explained to them the various concepts related to deceased organ donation.

The main topics focused on during the talk were:

• Blood Donation and its benefits
• Types of Organ Donation - Live and Deceased Donation 
• Donor Card and its importance
• Two circumstances of death (cardiac death and brain death)
• Role of police personnel in organ donation procedures 
• Brain Death- how it is different from cardiac death and coma
• Organs that can be donated after brain death and cardiac death
• Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994 and Rules related to declaration of brain death and Tamil Nadu Government orders
• Age criteria of the donor and recipient and the time frame to transplant  organs
• Tamil Nadu organ sharing registry
• Statistics of donors in Tamil Nadu
• Role of Transplant Coordinators in Hospitals
• Activities of MOHAN Foundation across the country to strengthen the Deceased Organ Donation programme
• Toll free Organ Donation Helpline number was given to them

Since the police is involved in conducting inquests in medico-legal cases, the following procedures were highlighted during the talk:

• Importance of time factor during organ donation
• How to prepare an inquest for deceased organ donor
• Tamil Nadu Government order 86 of 2011 regarding procedures and forms for post-mortem.

Some of the queries raised were:

1. How to register for Eye donation?
2. How to register for Kidney Transplantation?
3. Whom to inform for eye donation in case of cardiac death?

The queries were answered and all the Sub-inspectors present showed their support for the noble cause by signing the donor card.