On August 30, 2025, MOHAN Foundation, in collaboration with Lions Club Rishikesh Devbhoomi, organized an awareness session on organ donation for the Ward Councilors of Rishikesh at the Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation office, Gumaniwala, Rishikesh.
Mr. Sanchit Arora, Project Leader, MOHAN Foundation posted at AIIMS Rishikesh, served as the speaker for the session.
The session began with an interactive exchange, where participants were invited to share their existing knowledge about organ donation. Mr. Arora then provided a detailed overview of the status of organ donation in India, covering a wide range of topics including:
• What is organ donation, and why is it important to donate organs?
• Who can be an organ donor?
• Explanation of live and deceased donors
• Organ donation during life and after death
• Brain death
• Differences between coma and brain death
• Eye donation and steps required to preserve corneas after death
• Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994
• Role of the MOHAN Foundation
• What an individual can do to contribute to this noble cause
• Myths and facts about organ donation
Experience shared by participants
• Mr. Narender Prem Singh Bisht shared his inspiring journey of donating blood 149 times, including platelet donations, and also pledged to donate his eyes after death.
Overall, the session was highly interactive, with participants enthusiastically contributing to the discussion and posing numerous queries. Some of the questions raised during the session included:
• Can a person who has cataract donate his/her eyes?
• Is there a specific time period allocated for the retrieval of tissues?
• How can someone pledge for organ donation?
• Is a donor card considered a legal document?
During the event, safety goggles were handed over to the ward councillors for onward distribution to painters, blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, and other workers exposed to unsafe working conditions in their respective wards.
At the end of the session, Mr. Gopal Narang, Charter President, Lions Club Rishikesh Devbhoomi concluded with a motivating slogan in the local language.
• Marta hai shareer, Amar hai Atma, and Angdaan se milta hai swayam Par-matma.
The above slogan indicates that “the body may perish, but the soul is immortal; through organ donation, one meets the divine.”
The session provided an opportunity for around 15 ward councillors to get a detailed insight into organ donation, and they felt motivated to make a mark towards the noble cause of organ donation.
-ACT,-2011.gif){kind=spacer}
