On January 24, 2020, MOHAN Foundation was invited to conduct a session on organ donation at Artemis Hospitals, Gurugram. This session is organized by nursing education department every month as part of nurses’ induction programme. Ms. Shafia Hameed (Transplant Coordinator, MF) was the resource person for the session.
Ms. Shafia began the session by introducing herself, the Foundation, and in particular its role in spreading awareness on organ donation. She then asked the participants if anyone amongst them had pledged their organs. Two participants confirmed that they had pledged for eye donation many years back.
She then spoke about the need of organ donation, current statistics of organ donation in India which was extremely low (0.8 pmp) and how to bridge the gap between demand versus supply. Reasons that became hurdles in organ donation in India were also discussed. One participant shared with the group that lack of awareness was the main reason that he could not sign up for organ donation as his family did not support him in his decision. Difference between brain death and cardiac death was explained. A short movie on brain death was shown to the participants to give clarity on the said subject. It was emphasized that solid organs can only be donated in case of brain death and tissues after cardiac death. Myths pertaining to organ donation were also addressed.
The session was quite interactive as participants had various queries like; how organs are allocated, whether the donor family is paid for organs etc. Shafia took up the queries and told the participants that the process was streamlined and everything was done in accordance with the law. NOTTO which is a national body does the organ allocation. Organs are a national resource and cannot be used for sale, selling or buying of organs is a punishable offence according to Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 1994. The participants understood the whole process and were satisfied with the answers.
Close to 51 nurses attended the session.
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