The Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO), PGIMER, campaign on organ donation ‘I have pledged for organ donation, It’s your turn now’, struck the right chord with visitors.
A total of 307 persons pledged theirs organs and over 1,200 reached out directly through the three-day event at Leisure Valley on Sunday.
Among those who pledged organs include Pankaj Tomar (22), a resident of Noida, had donated eyes of his brother who got killed in a road accident; Ravina (19), a college student, who had attended the ROTTO’s awareness session at her school pledged her organs; Ashwani Kumar (50), from Mohali, had read about cadaver organ donation of a newborn baby at PGIMER and wanted to be a part of this noble cause; Narinder and Mukul Kumar, who work ast a private hospital and daily encounter pain and ordeal of kidney failure patients; Om Prakash Goyal (43), from Chandigarh; Ranjan Bhanot (36), from Jammu; Parvinder Sharma (30), from Bathinda and over 300 more like them pledged organs.
“At least, we will be able to save someone’s life,” said most of the persons who were filling Form 7 and posing for pictures with their donor cards.
Renu Sharma (52), a cancer survivor, said, “Live life to the fullest and then pass it on to others after death.”
The ROTTO ensured that there was mix of fun-filled activities, including street plays, slogan writing, graffiti and quiz competition to make maximum people aware about the cause of organ donation.
Prof Vipin Koushal, Nodal Officer, ROTTO, said, “Every year, the response is getting better. This time, we have witnessed a striking difference. Most of the people who pledged organs already knew about the concept either through media or some awareness programme.”
He said, “Awareness generation is a first step towards attitudinal change. Opportunities like this help in connecting with community members and talk about organ donation.”
