​On June 28th, 2018, MOHAN Foundation conducted an awareness talk on organ donation for the employees of Puma Sports India Pvt. Ltd. at their regional office in Gurugram. Ms. Payal Sinha, Admin/Hr, Puma Sports took the initiative to organize the talk in their organisation. Dr. Muneet Kaur Sahi (Programme Manager, MF Delhi-NCR) was the resource person and she was accompanied by Ms Anindita Sabath, Dr Pallavi Rekhi & Ms Pallavi Sood.

 

Puma is a German multinational company that designs and manufactures athletic and casual footwear, apparel and accessories, which is headquartered in Germany. Puma is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world. In May 2011 Puma Sports India Pvt Ltd operates as a manufacturer and distributor of sports products in India. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Bangalore, India.

 

Dr. Muneet began the session by asking the participants basic questions on organ donation, organ donor card and brain-death to assess their knowledge on the said subject. She started her presentation based on the inputs given to her by the participants that organ donation is a complex and a dynamic process and that many factors like family, cultural and religious beliefs influence a person's decision to donate. She then shared with them India's deceased donation ​(estimated) statistics and India's ODR and where does India stand on the world map in comparison to countries like Spain and Croatia with high organ donation rates.

 

She then explained the concept of brain-stem death and emphasised on the fact that organs can only be retrieved from a brain-stem dead donor once certified by a panel of four doctors in a registered transplant centre.A video on brain-stem death was then shown for better clarity and understanding. The Transplant Law i.e. Transplantation of Human Organs & Tissues Act, 1994 aimed at regulation of removal, storage and transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and for prevention of commercial dealings human organ was also explained. The difference between brain-stem death and circulatory death and the organs and tissues that can be retrieved after both was explained in detail. Eye (cornea) donation was also touched upon as a person can donate eyes irrespective of the nature of death. Eye bank details were also shared. 

 

The participants had doubts and questions which were answered effectively. To name a few:

• How do we know whether the organs are going to the right person or not?

• Is the Indian donor card valid across different countries?

• If the family refuses for organ donation, can the ventilator be switched off?

• Can my family take a decision even if I have not signed up for organ donation ?

• Is the identity of the recipient revealed?

 

It was a very engaging and an interactive session. Seeing the keenness and enthusiastic response of the employees, Payal expressed the desire if another session could be organised at their head office in Bangalore by MOHAN Foundation.

 

Close to 18 participants attended the session and 13 forms (Form 7) were picked up.