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.
Doctors and other stakeholders involved in liver transplantation in Karnataka are working towards getting industries utilise their corporate social responsibility (CSR) budget to fund liver transplants, especially among children.
Union surface and transport minister and Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari, Nagpur mayor Pravin Datke and Rajya Sahba member Ajay Sancheti are among some of the leading personalities of the city to have pledged organ donation recently.
Whatever may be the time, 27-year old Girish Shetty's phone just doesn't stop ringing. A grief counsellor-cum-transplant coordinator, Shetty handles what is considered as one of the toughest jobs in the world -convincing grief-stricken relatives of a brain-dead person to part with the organs of their loved ones.
