On the 10^th of January, 2002, the Karnataka Raj Bhavan played host to the FORTE Donor Award Ceremony. These awards were instituted to accord public recognition to the families of organ donors in the state of Karnataka. It is also a way in which we as a society could convey our collective gratitude to them. In this year’s ceremony, six donor families were felicitated. Her Excellency , Smt. V.S. Rama Devi, Governor of Karnataka presided over the function and presented the FORTE award and Certificates of Honor to each of the families who hailed from different walks of life and different parts of the State.

There has been considerable interest raised in the process of organ donation, and FORTE (Foundation for Organ Retrieval and Transplant Education) has been spreading the message of organ donation through various public activities, which include talks with college students, NCC cadets, Corporate officers, Social service groups and workshops conducted for doctors, ICU personnel, nurses, counselors, police officers, administrators and so on. We find today that not only has been possible for us to transport organs to other cities in India whenever there is no recipient of the same blood group available in our own city. Organs have been transported to Vellore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai by road or by air. A national network of sorts has been established, but it still needs a lot of effort to be put in by medical professionals and the government to establish a National Registry and to promote ethical practices in Transplant surgery.