Need For Greater Awareness On Organ Donation Stressed

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, India

Though Ms. Mymoon Beevi and Ms. Shankari had met before several times, it was different this time. The latter saw the glimmer of life her mother had left behind, crossing a major milestone.

Five years ago, when her mother, Hema Sundaraj, died in a road accident, the family did not shy away from helping somebody. Despite acute grief, Mr. Sundaraj, the victim's husband, and his two daughters, Ms. Shankari and Ms. Urmila, immediately agreed to donate her heart for transplantation.

Ms. My Mymoon Beevi, a poor woman whose only option to stay alive was a heart transplant, was lucky that day. The Madras Medical Mission agreed to do the surgery and take care of all her post- operative expenses. Today, she crossed five years of her life with the transplanted heart.

``It is a sad as well as a happy day for me'', said Ms. Shankari. ``Sad because my mother is no more, happy because her heart still ticks in Ms. Mymoon Beevi''. Another heart transplant beneficiary, Mr. R. S. Sudarshan, intently listened to the moving words.

The occasion was a symposium on Organ Donation Awareness organised by the Madras Medical Mission (MMM) Hospital and MOHAN Foundation, an NGO.

Mr. Sundaraj agreed that he did have a tough time taking the decision to donate his wife's heart after she was declared brain dead. His request now is that more people should come forward to donate their organs.

The Government should also encourage such donations by according priority for wards of employees who had donated their organs when it came to providing jobs on compassionate grounds, he said.

Dr. K. M. Cherian, Director, Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases (ICVD) of MMM, called for greater awareness on organ donation. He appreciated the efforts of the Multi-Organ Harvesting Aid Network (MOHAN) Foundation and the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University to promote organ donation.

Dr. Philomena Mariados, Assistant Director, Administration, MMM, said though there were 550 fatalities in Chennai from road accidents annually, there were very few donors. The deterrents for donation were superstition, traditional religious beliefs, and absence of public awareness.

Copyrights © 2000 The Hindu & Tribeca Internet Initiatives Inc.

Copyright © 2000 Tribeca Internet Initiatives Inc.

This article posted October 6, 2000.