On August 21, 2018, MOHAN Foundation was invited to conduct an awareness session on organ donation for the students of DAV Public School, Sector 49, Gurugram. The talk was organized by the Times of India Group as part of their annual campaign to promote organ donation. Ms. Pallavi Kumar was the resource person for the session.

 

Ms Kumar explained the basic concepts of organ donation and transplantation, clarified brain death and spoke about the various myths around organ donation. A short film on brain death was shown to the students along with another motivational film on organ donation. She also spoke about the Opt-in and Opt-out systems of organ donation across the world and what process is being followed in India. She also touched upon the transplant law in India and the punishable offences under the act. Towards the end of the session, pictures of a few donors were shown where the families, despite their grief, took the decision to donate their loved ones organs.

 

The students were from standard XI and XII and they showed great interest in the session. A teacher present shared how one of her students had a kidney failure and there was no matching donor in the family. The family then listed the students name on the waiting list and subsequently got a kidney from a deceased donor in Hyderabad.

 

The principal of the school, Ms. Maini, was present throughout the session and actively took part in the discussion. She shared that she herself had pledged to donate her eyes and had shared the same with her family.

 

Angels of Change programme was also introduced by Ms. Pallavi Kumar. Many students showed interest in joining the training. The Principal was keen to take up the program and said she would get back to the Foundation after discussing it internally.

 

Around 224 students attended the sessions.