Chandigarh, Aug 13 (IANS) It was an emotional moment during the inauguration of the two-day National Deceased Organ Donation Workshop, being organised by the PGIMER in collaboration with NOTTO and ROTTO (North) here on Saturday, when the attendees gave standing ovation to 17 families, who were honoured for their gesture of organ donation amid their own tragedy that impacted 66 lives.
The donors gave a second lease of life to 42 organ failure patients and restored the eyesight of 24 corneal blind patients through organ and tissue transplantation at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
The brave-heart families honored on the occasion included those of donors Priya (13) from Chandigarh, Poonam Rani (32) from Fazilka, Gurjot Singh (four-and-a-half years) from Barnala, Yash Pandey (20) from Ludhiana, Ajay Kumar (23) from Jalandhar, Ababat Kaur Sandhu (39 days) from Amritsar, Raja Singh (23) from Ferozepur, Ajayesh (35) from Ropar and Jarnail Deen (60) from Malerkotla.
The donors belonging to Himachal Pradesh included Nisha Thakur (43), Mohan Singh (38), Layak Ram (55), Geeta Devi (47) Amit (27) Nisha Thakur, Vishal (18) and Dharmi Devi (75).
Speaking at the event that also marked the World Organ Donation Day, chief guest Rajneesh Sahai, Director, National Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), said, “The spirit behind observance of this special day is to disseminate correct information to promote the noble cause of organ donation.
“There cannot be anything more motivational than the presence of brave-hearted donor families. It is an extremely hard decision amid immense grief for the donor family, but the donor families like the ones present today among us, definitely instil a sense of confidence and a ray of hope for thousands of waitlisted patients.”
Expressing his gratitude, Vivek Lal, Director, PGIMER, said, “The 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 the PGIMER for their noblest wish to save others’ lives and the PGIMER could live up-to that trust.”
Yashpal Garg, Secretary (Health), Chandigarh, 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 empathises with those in waiting for organs and pledges for organ donation. These donor families are a living example of empathy and compassion.”
He reiterated the Chandigarh administration’s support in taking forward the mandate, especially with students being the young ambassadors of change in educational institutions.
Two of the organ recipients — Krishna and Vigyan Arora — acquainted the audience how their lives have changed 360-degree after organ transplant.
–IANS
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