World Organ Donation Day: PGI Chandigarh honours 17 brave heart donor families

Chandigarh: On the occasion of World Organ Donation Day, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh has organised a two-day Organ Donation Workshop where families of 17 brave-heart donors participated.

The administration department of PGIMER in collaboration with the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) and Northern Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) inaugurated a two-day 'National Deceased Organ Donation Workshop' that witnessed enthusiastic participation by over 400 delegates from the medical fraternity and civil society across the region, at Bhargava Auditorium at PGIMER.

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During the inaugural session, 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.

Some donors of Punjab were honoured on Friday and a few from Himachal Pradesh will be honoured today.

Speaking as the Chief Guest, on the occasion Dr Rajneesh Sahai, Director, National Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), said, "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, Director of PGIMER Prof. Vivek Lal who was also a 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, Prof. Jasbinder Kaur, Director Principal, Govt. Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh said, "Words cannot describe the selfless gesture of all these 17 families. Their spirit of giving has touched everyone and we are overwhelmed by their exemplary and altruistic gesture. They have taught all of us a lesson in humanity and magnanimity."

Earlier setting the context as the Organising Chairperson, Prof Vipin Koushal, Medical Superintendent and Head, Department 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."

Another high point of the Inaugural Session was the stellar performance by differently-abled students of Discover Ability School, Mohali

The Inaugural Session was followed by an academic workshop wherein eminent clinicians and experts deliberated about the multiple facets of organ transplantation. Day two of the Workshop will focus on multiple aspects of deceased organ donation and will witness engaging discussions.

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