Close to 10,000 people have pledged their support towards organ donation and signed and collected cards that state their willingness to be organ donors.
Phoenix Marketcity, in association with Mohan Foundation, is organising a campaign called I Support O. The campaign focusses on spreading awareness about organ donation.
Shruti Mishra became the youngest ambassador of Mohan Foundation (MF), a not for profit organization that coordinates organ donation and transplantation across the country, on Tuesday. The 21-year-old was chosen for the job because she had already pledged her organs last year.
June 16 was a routine Tuesday for the youngsters manning 104, the medical advice helpline set up by the Tamil Nadu government. At 11.30 am, a call came in from Paramakudi in the south-eastern Ramanathapuram district. On the line was N Gnanasekaran, seeking immediate assistance. His sister, 65-year-old K Premavathy, had died of natural causes about 15 minutes before the call and Gnanasekaran wanted to donate her eyes.
Two years ago, 22-year-old Hvovi Minocherhomji had just had a celebratory meal with her parents to mark the end of her B Com exams. Soon after that she dropped to the pavement and almost died. Her heart had stopped beating.
Worried about low organ donation rates in the national capital, several NGOs have joined hands to launch a campaign to boost organ donation.
A city-based hospital, in collaboration with several voluntary groups, on Wednesday launched a campaign to increase awareness for organ donation among people residing in Delhi-NCR.
Just a year ago, 21-year-old Bandra resident Hvovi Minocherhomji struggled with breathlessness and could barely walk a few steps at a time. On 15 June last year, she got a new lease on life when she became probably the first person from Maharashtra to get a heart transplant.
Until a year ago, walking a few steps was itself a huge task for Hvovi Minocherhomji, a heart transplant recipient from Mumbai. Now, the 22-year-old college student who enjoys roller coaster rides wants to advocate the cause of deceased organ donation.
"I want sell my kidney. I am a 37-year-old married woman ... I have no money for my son's studies and I have family problems. So can you help me sir? It's very urgent ... My blood group is B positive,'' says an email sent to transplant surgeons in Chennai on May 25.
