Ms. Pallavi Kumar, Executive Director, MOHAN Foundation, NCR, was invited as faculty at the CME cum Workshop on Deceased Donor Transplantation organised by the Department of Nephrology of Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (Dr RMLIMS), Lucknow, on March 9, 2024.

 

Dr RMLIMS is a medical institute under the State Legislature Act located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The institute offers MBBS, BSc Nursing, DM, MCh, MD, and Ph.D. degrees. It was established in 2006 and was affiliated with King George's Medical University until 2018, after which it was notified as an institute under the State Legislature Act with degree-granting status and privileges.

 

Dr. RMLIMS is keen to start its deceased organ donation and transplantation programme, and the CME was the first endeavour in this direction. The primary themes of the workshop included topics including brain stem death identification, certification, and maintenance; allocation criteria for deceased donors; and the ethical and legal ramifications of transplanting deceased donors.

 

"A no is not always a no" and "Grief Counselling and Making the Ask for Organ Donation" were the topics that Ms. Pallavi led. She discussed decoupling—when and how to request organ donation—breaking the news of death, stages of grief, and making the request for organ donation—using a PowerPoint presentation.

 

A short informative film on “Approaches to Family Counselling,” jointly developed by the MOHAN Foundation and NHSBT UK, was shown to the participants.

 

Overall, the session was interactive and highly engaging, prompting insightful discussions and fostering a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in organ donation procedures within hospitals.

 

Close to 100 participants attended the CME.