To commemorate the 6th World Organ Donation Day that falls on 27th November 2010 and to usher in the first Organ Donation Day and Organ Donation Congress to be held in New Delhi tomorrow, MOHAN foundation (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) held a function in Chennai, South India Thursday evening. Prizes were given away by reputed film director and cinematographer Rajeev Menon, to the winning entries in the Short Film and Ad Spot categories that promoted the theme of Organ Donation. The event which also felicitated donor families of deceased organ donors was a perfect platform to promote greater awareness among the general public and encourage organ donation in India.

MOHAN Foundation had earlier invited entries from Visual Communications and Film Making students from city colleges in Chennai, to be judged under two categories: Ad Spot and Short Film. With Organ Donation as the theme, the entries were to promote awareness among the public towards the noble cause. The Foundation had also offered to provide upon request the base material required to write the script. The Short film or Ad spot entries were welcomed in Tamil or Hindi with English subtitles in any of the following types—documentary, docu-drama, fictional, re-creation of real event, as Interviews or presenting views of personalities.

The competition had enthusiastic participation from college students in Chennai who were initiated into the nuances of filming with a social message by Rajeev Menon’s expert team from his film institute Mindscreen. The first prize in the short film category was bagged by Dayalraj and his team from Hindustan College of Arts and Science for Uyir Kodu (Give Life), N. Vijayan from Govt Fine Arts College got the second prize for Naan Irandha Pin (After I Die) while Vishnu Kumar from the Hindu College was awarded the third prize.

In the Ad Spot category Sugeeth’s team from Chennai Film Institute got the first prize, Santhosh from Anna University and Arunraj from Tagore Engineering College were awarded the second and third prizes respectively. All films highlighted the crying need for organ donation, especially in the case of ‘brain dead’ donors where each donor can give a new lease of life for at least nine people.

Welcoming the gathering, Dr. Sunil Shroff, Managing Trustee, MOHAN Foundation said the Govt. of Tamilnadu was a great force behind implementing procedures facilitating organ donation and that the film competition was devised “to enable young people to use their creative skills and raise awareness about organ donation through this medium.”

Mr. V. K. Subburaj IAS, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Govt of Tamilnadu, lauded MOHAN Foundation as a pioneer for its efforts to create awareness on Organ Donation even before the Govt of Tamilnadu set out to streamline the process in this area. He said there were over 1 lakh people in India waiting for a kidney transplant and that the government-run Stanley Hospital had performed 14 liver transplants in the last one year. Mr. Subburaj felicitated Prof Mohanasundaram, Dean, Madras Medical College who took the initiative to sign an MoU with MOHAN Foundation to place grief counselors in the Government General Hospital. He also felicitated the families of the deceased organ donors –the ‘Real Heroes’ of the day who ‘let go’ of a loved one even in their greatest moment of grief to be of use to others.

Speaking on the occasion, director Rajeev Menon observed that everyone wanted to do some good in a lifetime and promoting greater awareness on organ donation would create an environment where “the message will be uppermost in people’s mind so that the family can act fast, decide and donate organs of a ‘brain dead’ loved one even in the midst of their grief.”

Releasing the 30th issue of the Indian Transplant Newsletter published by MOHAN Foundation and delivering the presidential address, Dr. P.W.C. Davidar IAS, Principal Secretary, Information and Technology, Govt of Tamilnadu said, “ We don’t want unnatural and untimely deaths to happen. But we are trying to create an environment where people can make it meaningful by donating organs to save lives when it happens.

MOHAN Foundation, conceived by a group of highly motivated practicing medical and non-medical professionals is supporting the cause of deceased organ donation since 1996, spreading awareness and encouraging organ donations through various events in many parts of India. Its Transplant Coordinators’ Training Programme has been recognized by the Indira Gandhi Open University recently.

Organ donation and transplantation is saving lives in different parts of the world and awareness on organ donation can make the organs and tissues readily available to those who are in need of them. Apart from eyes and kidneys that are the most common organ donations known to people, it is also possible to transplant other organs like heart, lungs, liver and pancreas. Similarly tissues like skin, bone cartilage, veins, arteries, heart valves, can be transplanted to give suffering patients a second lease in life.

If you haven’t got yourself a Donor Card and pledged to donate your organs, World Organ Donation Day 2010 is the perfect occasion to step out, get a donor card and pledge your organs to be able to save lives.

Source-Medindia