On October 19, 2023, MOHAN Foundation Delhi NCR office conducted an organ donation awareness session at Cloudnine Hospital. Ms. Simran Anand, Programme Officer, MF Delhi NCR, was the speaker for the session and she was accompanied by Ms. Sanya Santosh, Programme Officer, MF Delhi NCR.

 

Cloudnine hospital is one of the top maternity hospital chains in India that specializes in handling high-risk pregnancies and critical cases.  Cloudnine has been successfully delivering healthy babies into the hands of delighted parents all across the country for over a decade. Cloudnine has the nation's leading fertility and neonatal care specialists. The hospital has 12 branches across India.

 

Ms. Simran began the session by asking participants what they knew about organ donation, to which one ICU doctor who had already attended our awareness session replied that organ donation is performed when an individual is brain dead. Ms. Simran then explained the current status of organ donation in India. She also explained the basic concepts of organ donation and transplantation with the help of a PowerPoint presentation. One of the participants also shared her personal experience where her mother and brother met in an accident. Later, they passed away due to brain death. The family was not aware of the concept of organ donation at that time. The following topics were explained in detail: 

• What is organ donation and it’s need in the society.
• Who can be an organ donor?
• Explanation about live and deceased donor
• Organs that can be donated during life and after death.
• Brain death
• Eye donation and steps required to preserve cornea after death.
• Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994
• Role of MOHAN Foundation
• What an individual can do to contribute for this noble cause
• Myths and facts about organ donation
• Difference between coma and brain death

 

A short informative film on brain death was shown and the importance of family consent in the process of organ donation was also explained in detail. Participants also shared their views about the cause. One participant emphasised that a donor’s family should be given benefits in the form of a job.

Overall, the session was very interactive where participants enthusiastically contributed to the discussion and asked many queries to name a few:

• If an individual has an eye-sight problem, will he or she be allowed to donate eyes?
• Can a cornea recipient donate his or her corneas after their death?

 

Close to 25 participants attended the session.