PGIMER’s celebrates World Organ Donation Day 2022
Honors 17 brave-heart donor families for consenting for Organ Donation amid their own tragedy & impacting 66 lives through Organ& Tissue Transplantation at PGIMER
CHANDIGARH: 13 Aug.: Marking the observance of World Organ Donation Day, Deptt. of Hospital Administration, PGIMER in collaboration with NOTTO and ROTTO (North) inaugurated a two day National Deceased Organ Donation Workshop that witnessed an enthusiastic participation by over 400 delegates from medical fraternity and civil society across the region here at Bhargava Auditorium at PGIMER today.
It was an extremely emotional moment with every one giving a standing ovation during the Inaugural Session as 17 brave heart donor families were honoured for their exemplary gesture of organ donation amid their own tragedy that impacted 66 lives including giving a second lease of life to 42 organ failure patients and restoring the sight of 24 corneal blind patients through organ and tissue transplantation at PGIMER.
The brave-heart families honored on the occasion included those of donors Priya of 13 years from Chandigarh, Poonam Rani of 32 years from distt. Fazilka, little master Gurjot Singh of four and a half years from distt. Barnala, Yash Pandey of 20 years from Ludhiana, Ajay Kumar of 23 years from distt. Jalandhar, little angel Ababat Kaur Sandhu of only 39 days from Amritsar, Raja Singh of 23 years from distt. Ferozepur, Ajayesh of 35 years from distt. Roopnagar, Jarnail Deen of 60 years from Malerkotla from the state of Punjab.
The donors belonging to the state of Himachal Pradesh honoured today included Nisha Thakur of 43 years from distt. Mandi, Mohan Singh of 38 years from distt. Solan, Layak Ram of 55 years from distt. Sirmour, Geeta Devi of 47 years from distt. Mandi, Amitof 27 years from Kalka, Nisha Thakur of 62 years from distt. Solan, Vishal of 18 years and Dharmi Devi of 75 years from Distt. Kangra.
Speaking as the Chief Guest, on the occasion Dr. Rajneesh Sahai, Director, National Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), stated, “The spirit behind observance of World Organ Donation Day is to disseminate correct information to promote the noble cause of Organ Donation. There cannot anything more motivational than the presence of brave-heart donor families. It is an extremely hard decision amid immense grief for the donor family, but the donor families like the ones present today amongst us, definitely instil a sense of confidence and a ray of hope for thousands of waitlisted patients.”
Expressing his gratitude and paying rich tributes to the donor families, Prof. Vivek Lal, Director PGIMER as Guest of Honour stated, “PGIMER owes its distinct place in organ transplantation to all the donor families. It was not possible to reach this far without the gritty decisions and selfless gestures of these donor families. There is no metric, no parameter to measure their magnanimous gift of life. It is hugely gratifying that the donor families trusted PGIMER for their noblest wish to save others’ lives and PGIMER could live up-to that trust.”
‘Lauding the spirit of giving of this region’, Sh. Yashpal Garg, Secretary Health, UT Chandigarh, gracing the occasion as the Guest of Honour, said, “The only solution to bridge the burgeoning gap between the organ availability and requirement and save precious lives is to create a culture of voluntary deceased organ donation. This seems a possibility when each one of us empathizes with those in waiting for organs and pledges for organ donation and these donor families are a living example of ‘empathy’ and ‘compassion. He retreated Chandigarh Administration’s support in taking forward the mandate especially with students being the young ambassadors of change in educational institutions.
Echoing the same sentiment, Prof. Jasbinder Kaur, Director Principal, Govt. Medical College & Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, “Words cannot describe the selfless gesture of all these 17 families. Their spirit of giving has touched every one and we are overwhelmed by their exemplary and altruistic gesture. They have taught all of us a lesson in humanity and magnanimity.”
Another highpoint of the Inaugural Session was the stellar performance by differently abled students of Discover Ability School, Mohali who put their best foot forward to lilting tunes of Bollywood songs and made a place for themselves in the hearts of everyone in the auditorium. It was most touching to see these children’s enthusiasm as they were felicitated by Sh Kumar Gaurav Dhawan, Deputy Director Administration & Sh Kumar Abhay, Financial Advisor PGIMER.
Earlier setting the context as the Organising Chairperson, Prof. Vipin Koushal, Medical Superintendent & Head, Deptt. of Hospital Administration, PGIMER cum Nodal Officer, ROTTO (North) stated, “The intent behind organising the Workshop 2022 is to build further impetus on PGIMER’s agenda on organ donation and throw light on the critical enablers as well as the tireless effort as an institution that went into making organ donation and transplantation possible.”
Two of the recipients Krishna, the heart recipient & Vigyan Arora the simultaneous Kidney-Pancreas recipient acquainted the audience how their lives have changes 360 degree after the transplant with their poignant experience sharing.
The dignitaries also felicitated 23 members of medical fraternity and civil society for their immense contribution towards the cause. To felicitate pledging further QR code was also launched by the dignitaries during the inaugural session. The resource material to promote skin donation was also released during the inaugural session.
The Inaugural Session was followed by academic workshop wherein eminent clinicians and experts deliberated about the multiple facets of organ transplantation. The day two of the Workshop will focus on multiple aspects of deceased organ donation and will witness engaging discussions.
