MOHAN ( Multi Organ Harvesting Aid network ) FOUNDATION

MOHAN Foundation is a 'not for profit' organisation established in 1997, with a mission to ensure that every Indian that is suffering from end stage organ failure, be provided with the gift of a new lease of quality life through a life saving organ. The organisation has a unique mandate of promoting Deceased Organ Donation, or what is called brain death organ donation in the county. India's current donation rate is at a mere 0.26 per million population, whereas we need to achieve a donation rate of 2 per million population to meet the current organ needs in our country. We feel this work is of great importance because India is struggling with an acute shortage of organs. It is e... read more MOHAN Foundation is a 'not for profit' organisation established in 1997, with a mission to ensure that every Indian that is suffering from end stage organ failure, be provided with the gift of a new lease of quality life through a life saving organ. The organisation has a unique mandate of promoting Deceased Organ Donation, or what is called brain death organ donation in the county. India's current donation rate is at a mere 0.26 per million population, whereas we need to achieve a donation rate of 2 per million population to meet the current organ needs in our country. We feel this work is of great importance because India is struggling with an acute shortage of organs. It is estimated that more than 200 thousand people require a transplant annually, and less than 10% are able to get it timely. At least 10 patients die waiting every day waiting for organs, and every 10 minutes a new name is added to the waiting list. Undoubtedly the demand far outstrips the availability of organs The MOHAN (Multiple Organ Harvesting Aid Network) was in Chennai to address this challenge. The Organization facilitates this with the help of a group of extensively trained and passionate Transplant Coordinators who effectively counsel families in hospitals to encourage them to think about organ donation and save other lives in their moment of grief and loss. The organization works closely with hospitals to increase organ donations as well as the judicious utilization of the donated Organs. The organization's activities cater to a specific set of Objectives. Initiating Public Education Programs to promote Awareness There is very little public awareness around organ donation. In the absence of fact based knowledge and understanding, people harbor many myths and misconceptions. The Foundation regularly conducts public awareness programs for corporate employees, students, medical professionals etc. These programs not only help bridge the gaps in knowledge, they also help people to make an informed decision to pledge for organ donation in the form of Donor Cards. Networking with Hospitals to enable Donations to occur The Foundation has been successfully creating liaisons with hospitals to help lay down Standard Operating Procedures and guidelines for successfully carrying out a Deceased Organ Donation and Transplantation Programme within the hospital. Training Transplant Coordinators in counseling families of the deceased for enabling more donations The Organization has been training a special cadre of professionals called Transplant Coordinators who undertake the challenging task of speaking to grieving families of potential organ donors to encourage them to look at donating the organs to save the lives of many others. These transplant coordinators are placed in hospitals which the Foundation is working with. They sensitize the para medical staff, conduct activities both within and outside the hospital to generate awareness and most importantly coordinate the entire work of donation if the family consents. . Liaising with Government bodies to pass favorable legislations that augment Organ donations The Foundations' ongoing efforts have been to liaise with Government at the Centre and at the State level. It has been a catalyst in making a few amendments to the existing Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994. The Foundation is on the advisory board of "Cadaver Transplantation Coordination Committee" initiated by Government of Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. Since its inception in Chennai in 1997, the Foundation has grown and spread its reach by setting up offices in many other parts of the country like Hyderabad, Vizag, Jaipur, Cochin, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Nagpur, Chandigarh etc. The New Delhi office was set up in 2011 and has already coordinated 11 donations within the three years of its establishment.