About MOHAN Foundation Established in 1997, MOHAN (an acronym for Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation is an organisation with a very unique mandate of facilitating deceased organ donation and transplantation in India. At a time, when no one in the country was even thinking about organ donation, the Foundation, a brainchild of a group of highly motivated & concerned group of practicing medical professionals, dared to voice the need for organ donation. It has since then advocated and facilitated various issues in this field. Its unique mission is 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 lifesaving organ. The Foundation has been carrying out a long-term crusade to create awareness and dispel myths amongst the medical fraternity and the general public by conducting talks and training programs across the country with a diverse group of people. The Foundation’s expertise lies in counselling families of brain dead patients to donate organs. It has a team of dedicated and very driven Transplant Coordinators who do the unenviable job of counselling bereaved families to encourage them to donate the organs of their deceased loved one and save other lives. They work closely with private and government hospitals to reach out to such families and make organ donation a reality. The following have been the objectives of MOHAN Foundation: Creating public awareness among a cross section of population Motivating families of ‘brain dead’ patients to donate organs Training professionals (Transplant Coordinators) in facilitating organ donation Liaising with government to pass favourable legislation Networking with other organ procuring organizations in the country 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 Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Nagpur and Jaipur. MOHAN Foundation works closely with the government both at the centre and at state level. MOHAN Foundation has signed MoUs with the government of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Rajasthan to help develop their deceased organ donation program. All the services rendered by MOHAN Foundation are free. It is guided by the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, where no organ can be bought or sold. Hence, it does not pay anything to the organ donor family nor does it receive any monetary benefit from the recipients. The Foundation survives on the philanthropy of the community. ANGELS OF CHANGE, Volunteer Training Manual Page 1 www.mohanfoundation.org ANGELS OF CHANGE A structured training programme for volunteers for Organ Donation MOHAN Foundation has launched a unique program called “Angels of Change” in which selected student volunteers from schools and colleges are taken through a customized training module to enable them to undertake awareness initiatives on organ donation amongst various audiences. The organ donation rates are abysmally low in India and one of the main reasons for this is the lack of awareness on the subject. Given the vast population in the country and the lack of any systematic government led awareness campaigns, this becomes a mammoth task. The efforts of the few NGOs working in this field and isolated campaigns like the one by Times of India are at best, drops in the ocean. World over, much good is attributed to the power of volunteering - for those who volunteer, those who are helped by volunteers and the community generally that benefits from the contribution of volunteers. Engaging student volunteers – duly sensitized and trained as agents of change would be an effective way forward. The main objective of the program is to encourage a dialogue on organ donation amongst students and young people and to engage them with the cause. The Foundation intends to do that by: Empowering/enabling them with knowledge on various aspects of organ donation – medical, legal, social and ethical Equipping them with skills to use this knowledge to disseminate information and influence attitudes. Sensitizing them to the nuances of organ donation, both from the donor and recipient perspective so that they are committed to the cause long term The training is conducted through sessions consisting of audio-video presentations on organ donation, discussions, interactions with donor/recipient families and medical experts. Post training the volunteers are expected to conduct public awareness talks or campaigns on their own for various groups of people. In the year 2017 MOHAN Foundation conducted 22 volunteer training programs which created more than 600 Angels of Change. This year too, the Foundation aims to expand this initiative to cover all the major schools and colleges across the country. ANGELS OF CHANGE, Volunteer Training Manual Page 2 www.mohanfoundation.org Feedback from some Angles of Change volunteers: “The sessions with MOHAN foundation left me with a profound sense of clarity on the subject. I am truly grateful to them as they played a big role in helping our campaign become a big success”. - Aditya S Nair "Working on organ donation and interacting with organ recipients has been the best learning experience of my life. The training has made me realize that a deathbed can be called a bed of life, all it costs is a little love." - Siddhi Pal "To be able to talk to people about organ donation has helped me grow as a person and understand the significance of the noble act. I was fortunate to be a part of this training as it has helped me spread awareness about the issue in a country where the statistics are deplorable." -Shreya Pant "Organ donation is a relatively unknown issue. It was an absolute pleasure to educate and create awareness amongst people about such an unappreciated topic which proves to be the salvation of so many across the globe." - Saanvi Vasudevan Angels of SRM Engineering College Angels of Anna Adarsh Matriculation School I was totally carefree till I understood the life of a heart recipient. His testimony touched my heart and changed my way of thinking. This was a great motivation to work towards improving the understanding of organ donation. Thanks to Angel of Change program.” – Britzer Paul ANGELS OF CHANGE, Volunteer Training Manual Page 3 www.mohanfoundation.org Concepts of Organ Donation ANGELS OF CHANGE, Volunteer Training Manual Page 4 www.mohanfoundation.org ANGELS OF CHANGE, Volunteer Training Manual Page 5 www.mohanfoundation.org ANGELS OF CHANGE, Volunteer Training Manual Page 6 www.mohanfoundation.org ANGELS OF CHANGE, Volunteer Training Manual Page 7 www.mohanfoundation.org FAQ on Organ Donation What is organ donation? Organ donation is the donation of human organs or tissues from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Who can be a donor? Anyone regardless of age, race, or gender can become an organ and tissue donor after his or her death (brain stem/cardiac). Consent of near relative or a person in lawful possession of the dead body is required. If the deceased donor is under the age of 18 years, then the consent required from one of the parent or any near relative authorized by the parents is essential. What are the different types of donation? 1) Living Donor Organ Donation: A person during his life can donate one kidney (the other kidney is capable of maintaining the body functions adequately for the donor), a portion of pancreas and a part of the liver (the segment of liver will regenerate after a period of time in both recipient and donor). 2) Deceased Donor Organ Donation: A person can donate multiple organ and tissues after brain stem death (explained below) and/or cardiac death. What organs and tissues can a deceased donor donate? If different organs and tissues are in medically fit conditions, following organs and tissues can be donated: Organs Tissues Two kidneys Two corneas Liver Skin Heart Heart valves Two lungs Cartilage/Ligaments Intestine Bones/Tendons Pancreas Vessels So you see, a single ‘Yes’ not only saves many lives but also significantly improves the quality of life for many others. Isn’t that worth thinking about? To the world, you may be one person. But to one person, you may be the world. ANGELS OF CHANGE, Volunteer Training Manual Page 8 www.mohanfoundation.org What is brain stem death? Brain stem death is an irreversible condition that results from a severe injury to the brain. All areas of the brain get damaged, stop functioning and a person cannot sustain on his/her own. Vital body functions are maintained through a ventilator, which supplies oxygen and enables the heart to beat. This maintains blood circulation to the vital organs, which can be harvested for organ transplantation. This is a unique situation where the person has died but his/her organs can still be retrieved for transplantation for others suffering from end stage organ failure. …….. Isn’t that remarkable? Is brain stem death legally accepted as death? Yes, as per the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994 brain stem death is legally accepted as death. What is the difference between brain stem death and coma? Coma is a state of deep unconsciousness that occurs because the brain is injured in some way. The brain still functions and this can be seen in the tests that are performed. The person will be able to breathe on his own without the ventilator. The brain can heal in state of coma. While brain stem death is an irreversible condition, which results from a severe brain injury, or hemorrhage, which causes all the brain activity to stop. This can happen after a major road accident or bleeding in the brain due to stroke. Organ donation cannot take place from patients in coma.