Ms. Pallavi Kumar was invited to speak at the 8th Annual Conference of the Liver Transplant Society of India – LTSICON 2025, held at Hotel Pullman, Aerocity, New Delhi, from November 20–23, 2025.

She served as faculty at the Transplant Coordinators’ Symposium on November 23, 2025, which was attended by over 100 transplant coordinators from hospitals across the country.

Ms. Kumar delivered a lecture titled “A No Is Not Always a No: Rethinking Family Counselling Approaches in Organ Donation.” In her talk, she highlighted the emotional complexity families experience during end-of-life decision-making, explaining that an initial refusal often reflects grief, fear, or limited understanding rather than a definitive “no.” Drawing from real experiences and counselling frameworks, she emphasized the importance of sensitivity, patience, and informed dialogue to support families ethically and compassionately.

The symposium also featured expert sessions, panel discussions, and technical presentations on a range of critical subjects, including:

• Scope of ancillary tests in certifying brainstem death

• Certifying brain death in paediatric patients

• Communicating with recipients about expanded-criteria donors – coordinator’s perspective

• Transplant candidacy in relapsed alcoholic liver disease with ACLF: ethical dilemmas

• Selecting a living donor for acute liver failure: ethical and clinical challenges

• Independent living donor advocacy

The gathering served as a valuable platform for learning, professional development, and strengthening collaboration across the transplant ecosystem.

Feedback from Mr. Sivakumar M, General Secretary, Indian Association for Transplant Coordinators (IATC):

“We are especially grateful for the time and effort you put into your session on ‘A ‘No’ is not always a ‘No’: Rethinking family counselling approaches in organ donation’, which was insightful and engaging.”