On March 1, 2023, Ms. Pallavi Kumar, Executive Director, MOHAN Foundation-Delhi NCR, was invited as a speaker for a "Commonwealth-focused webinar exploring stories from around the Commonwealth: how we approach families about organ donation", organised as part of the NHSBT/BTS Joint Congress 2023. The webinar involved talks from several speakers from around the Commonwealth (India, South Africa, and Singapore) covering the following topics:

• Approaching families in the UK- Ms Cathy Miller, Head of Education and Professional Development, NHSBT

• Approaching families from around the Commonwealth- Ms Pallavi Kumar, India, Mr Sam bin Nordin, Singapore & Ms Vuyie Soyizwapi, South Africa

• When families overrule donation decision- Ms Karen Otty, Specialist Nurse-Organ Donation (SN-OD) at NHS Blood and Transplant, UK

MOHAN Foundation signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), UK in 2015. The objective is to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing between the two organizations with the aim of increasing organ donation rates in India and the United Kingdom.

This webinar delivered excellent insight into one of the most critical components of improving organ donation rates: how to approach the families of potential organ donors. The speakers shared their perspective on what language they use with families when discussing death and dying and elaborated on why they take the approach they do. Ms. Pallavi spoke about the following points:

• India follows an opt-in system that allows any adult above the age of 18 to voluntarily register themselves as organ donors if they wish to donate organs after their death.

• The collaborative approach to the families for organ donation A shared commitment works best for all stakeholder groups involved in the care of patients and their grieving families.

• Various stages of grief, how to approach families for organ donation, the right and wrong approaches, and the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ in counselling such families

• Knowing and applying appropriate words and methodology to the process of communicating bad news can reduce the emotional damage and help the individual adjust to the new situation.

• establishing relationships and regular contacts with the family before breaking the bad news.

• Brain death certification is mandatory. There should be more clarity in the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA) as to how physicians should proceed with intensive care unit (ICU) care in the case of a patient who has been declared brain-dead but whose family has refused consent for organ donation.

The webinar was streamed live on the Commonwealth Tribute to Life YouTube channel, where it was seen by more than 330 people. 

Click here to watch the video