The Curi Hospital celebrated World Kidney Day with a workshop on Organ Donation and Renal Transplants.  This was conducted on March 16, 2024 in their hospital auditorium. More than 60 students of Dialysis Technology from Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Learning, SRM Institute of Allied Health Sciences, Meenakshi College of Health Sciences and Chettinad College of Allied Health Sciences participated in the workshop. MOHAN foundation was the resource partner for the workshop.  Dr Hemal Kanvinde, Quality Assurance Officer and Mr Ganesh C, Marketing Coordinator were the resource persons for the workshop.

The workshop was inaugurated with a lightening of a lamp by the Chairperson Dr PB Sivaraman and Managing Director Dr Ananthakrishnan Sivaraman of Curi Hospital.  Dr Anath shared his views on Organ donation and gave a short introduction to the facilities available in the hospital.  The workshop was a mix of didactic lectures, activity-based learning and quizzes and short films.

Mr Ganesh spoke on the Concepts of Organ Donation. He gave an insight on the why, how, what and who can donate organs. He touched upon the myths of why people do not support organ donation, and how does a patient of organ failure register to get an organ, a story of a recipient was related to the audience.

Dr Muthu Jayaraman, a senior nephrologist of Chennai, who was in the team that did the first cadaver donation Chennai was the next speaker. She spoke on the Living Renal Donor Evaluation.  In her talk she touched upon the clinical, psychological and ethical aspects of donation. She spoke of the role of a doctor to ensure the safety of a living donor.  She also gave information on marginal and extended living donors. She informed the students to be ethical in the work and use positive speech with the patients.

This lecture was followed by a video depicting Brain death certification. And was followed by a quiz on tissue donation conducted online on Kahoot platform. The students enjoyed the quiz and participated very actively. The top five quizzers were given a batch with sayings that support organ donation.

To make the students understand the many stakeholders in a deceased donation in a hospital, MOHAN Foundation created an activity. Many students were given a card with the name of a stakeholder and with the help of a presentation a 10-step protocol for deceased donation was explained.  The role of donor family, social worker, transplant coordinator, intensivist, ICU nurse to the security, and medical record department and many more were explained. The students understood the amazing coordination done to get a Gift of Life. Students participated eagerly in this activity.

This was followed by a break for lunch.

Post lunch MOHAN Foundation conducted a workshop that explained loss and grief. The activity gave a glimpse of the feelings of anxiety and loss of a CKD patient. Loss of livelihood, loss to be normal, loss to go out and enjoy may things, loss of a good quality of life. The activity also touched upon how the CKD diagnosis affects the whole family.  Dr Hemal conducted this session.

The final session was a talk on Renal Recipient Evaluation and basic immunology. Dr Ajay Rathoon I, Consultant Nephrologist CURI Hospital. He spoke on the clinical criteria to be met to be listed for cadaver donation as well as for a living donation. He explained that a CKD patient has multiple co morbidities and the cause of the CKD has to clearly diagnosed. He touched on medical management after a transplant. He gave an introduction of immunology and two types of reactions that cause rejections. He explained in a simple way HLA genes and the tests that can ensure graft rejection does not happen.

MOHAN Foundation thanks Mrs Rama and team members of CURI hospital for conducting a seminar and the management for their support.