On February 12, 2023, a workshop for living donors was held at the Abu Sarovar Portico in Chennai. The workshop was part of the TRIOMPH activity of the MOHAN Foundation. The SBI Foundation supported it. The main two topics for discussion were health insurance for living donors and recipients and making donations free of coercion. Transplant coordinators, donors, and caregivers were part of the 33-strong delegate group. Among the faculty, Ms. Jennifer Wiseman, Independent Living Donor Advocate, M Health Fairview, University of Minnesota Medical Centre, USA, Ms. Viney Kirpal, a heart recipient, Mr. Abhishek Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, Ms. Anjali Uthup Kurian, Kidney Warrior Foundation, Kochi, and Ms. Dhvani Mehta, Lead (Health & Medical Law), Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Delhi, attended via Zoom.
Ms. Jaya Jairam, Project Director, MOHAN Foundation, gave an introduction to the living transplantation scenario in India and the lack of insurance for living donors. This was followed by a discussion moderated by Ms. Lalitha Raghuram, Country Head, MOHAN Foundation. The panellists were: Mr. Abhishek Gupta, Dr. Ravi Wankhede, MOHAN Foundation, Nagpur; Mr. Anil Srivatsa, a living donor; Ms. Viney Kirpal, Mr. Prashant Ajmera, Ahmedabad; Ms. Dhvani Mehta, Dr. Rajasekara Chakravarthi, Hyderabad; and Dr. K R Balakrishnan, MGM Hospital, Chennai. The main takeaway from the discussion was that there is a need for a multi-centre study on the health of living donors. This can be shared with health insurance companies to educate them and can lead to donors and recipients getting health insurance.
Dr. Sunil Shroff began the session on Making Donation Free of Coercion with an introduction to the topic, followed by a talk on the Role of Independent Donor Advocate via Zoom by Ms. Jennifer Wiseman. He then led a panel discussion on what and how to develop a system of donor advocacy in India. The panellists were Dr. R. Surendran, MIOT Hospital, Chennai; Dr. Rajasekara Chakravarthi, Yashoda Hospital, Hyderabad; Dr. Rajeevalochana Parthasarathy, MMM Hospital, Chennai; Dr. Siddiq Anwar, SSMC, Abu Dhabi; Ms. Anjali Uthup Kurian, Ms. Arathi Gokhale, President, NATCO India; and Mr. Ananth Krishnan, Chennai. The main points raised during the discussion were that a living donor advocate would aid in the removal of any coercion and that the doctors would be assisted in their counseling. Some suggested that the advocate should be from the authorization committee or from a government-based organisation, while others said that the person should not be from any transplant centre.
The workshop ended with a group picture and a vote of thanks by Ms. Sujatha Suriyamoorthi, Associate Director, Courses, MOHAN Foundation.
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