On June 22, 2023, Mr. Gabriel Pereira, an Organ Donation Ambassador from MOHAN Foundation, gave an organ donation awareness talk to the primary teachers of St. Mary’s Convent High School (Primary Section), Mapusa, Goa.

There were around 12 who participated: teachers, non-teaching staff, and Sister. Marina, in charge of the primary section.

Mr. Gabriel presented a video entitled what is brain death? And, began with a power point presentation describing the MOHAN Foundation, what it does, and its mission and objectives.

He explained why one must come forward to donate; he stated that not everyone is fortunate enough to be an organ donor; and he described the types of deaths and which organs or tissues may be donated.

He asked if anyone donated blood and received a response from a teacher who used to but no longer could because she had diabetes. He then shared with the participants that four individuals can benefit from a single blood donor. He provided an example of how plasma from covid blood was useful in treating covid patients. When a person donates blood, the body can receive the new blood within 24 hours, and it has numerous health benefits, such as the formation of new cells, etc.

Similarly, he stated that through organ donation, one individual can save eight lives and improve the lives of countless others through tissue donation, thereby giving someone the gift of life.

An accident involving a head injury can be fatal; the victim may fall into a coma or be declared brain stem dead. The purpose of these discussions was to ensure that the individual understand what brain stem death is during their lifetime, as well as what the family can do to make things easier for the transplant coordinator or grief counsellors after the death has been declared.

Mr. Gabriel thanked the sister in charge and the teachers for inviting MOHAN Foundation to conduct the talk.

Three teachers came forward to pledge to donate, and Gabriel gave out FAQs on organ donation.