Organ transplantation over the last 50 years has only been possible due to the magnificent act of organ donation by almost a million organ donors in the world. To recognize this noble act, Organ Donor week is celebrated throughout the world from August 8^th to 14^th.

There is currently a huge crisis due to shortage of organs globally and more so in India. However, this is a crisis with a cure. We, in India, need to push the cadaver organ donation programme forward.  Most of the organs here come from living donors, of which it is estimated that in almost 50% there is some sort of commerce involved.  We do approximately 3500 living kidney transplants, about 100 living liver transplants, 17,000 corneal transplants and only about 100 odd organs are transplanted from brain dead donors.  What is required is for all these transplantations to multiply manifold as the waiting list runs into many thousands. The only solution is to give a push to the cadaver programme as there is no dearth of brain deaths in our hospitals. The Tamil Nadu health department has taken some key initiatives in this direction and we hope this will give momentum to the programme.

MOHAN Foundation has been a facilitator of the cadaver programme for the last 10 years and worked as a support group for patients, physicians and the public. We have the records of almost all cadaver donors in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in the last 10 years. We, as an organisation, have tried to provide the donor families a platform to recognise their invaluable gift to society. Hence, releasing this special postal cover during Organ Donor week is yet another way of expressing our gratitude towards these unsung heroes who are the main backbone of this programme.

Dr.Sunil Shroff, Managing Trustee of MOHAN Foundation, welcomed the guests. In his address he said that organ  and tissue transplantation was  now an accepted method of treatment  for end-organ failure, be it kidneys, liver, heart, lungs or pancreas transplants or transplant of tissues like corneas, bone, skin, face. He added that in brain death almost the whole body can be recycled by the act of organ donation. Approximately 1% of hospital deaths are due to brain death and this number is important in the context of organ donation. He also pointed out that, in one particular case of cadaver donation that happened abroad, almost 43 people were helped with donation of not only kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, intestine but also tissues such as corneas, hand, toes, arteries, veins, cartilage, skin and bones. 

Present on the occasion were two special people, Dr.Selvakumar and Mr. K Raghuram, who represented the real heroes of the organ donation programme – the organ donors and their families.

Dr. Selvakumar is Professor and Head of Clinical Biochemistry at Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore. His wife Daya Selvakumar is also a Professor of Biochemistry at CMC, Vellore.  They have both been on the staff of CMC for more than 30 years.

On January 18, 2003 their older son, John Deepak Selvakumar, passed away tragically in a motorcycle accident.  John was a medical student in his final year at Vellore.  He was the sort of person that any parent would be proud to have as a son.  He was clever, hardworking, sincere, and had high ideals.  Much before the accident occurred; John had discussed with his grandfather the need for encouraging organ donation to save other people’s lives. John was brought to the Neurosurgery ICU at CMC and his parents were informed that he was brain dead. Setting their grief aside for a moment, the parents decided to donate the liver, kidney, and corneas of their beloved son. John left behind his parents, a younger brother and gifts to five suffering individuals whom he never knew.

Mr. K. Raghuram is not only the father of a multi-organ donor, but also the CEO of  MOHAN Foundation, Hyderabad. Mr. Raghuram and his wife, Lalitha lost their 19-year-old son Swaminarayan in a car accident on 13 January 2004. Even though both of them had already been working with the organ donation programme, Swaminarayan’s death presented a challenge to them. They rose to the challenge, so committed were they to the concept, and donated their son’s organs. Mr. Raghuram said, “I now have five sons and daughters who have benefited from my son’s liver, kidneys, and corneas. Let us pass on life; it is the most wonderful gift we can give when we leave.”

With Mr. Raghuram at the helm in Hyderabad, the cadaver organ donation activity has risen dramatically there. From January to June 2008, a total of 40 organs have been donated, including 16 kidneys, 18 corneas, 5 livers and 1 pancreas.

Mr. T. Murthy, Postmaster General, Business Development, Technology and Marketing, said that he was happy to be associated with the cause of organ donation and stressed the need to educate the masses about this cause. He mooted the idea of Organ Donor clubs in educational institutions to promote the concept of organ donation amongst the youth.

The chief guest, Mr. P.W.C. Davidar, I.A.S., Project Director, Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Tamil Nadu was greatly moved by the experiences of Dr. Selvakumar and Mr. Raghuram. He said that he was sure that the procedures and guidelines that were issued on brain death in Tamil Nadu would be able to help the cadaver organ donation programme and take care of some of the organ shortage. He also released the 26th issue of the Indian Transplant Newsletter on the occasion. It carries the latest cadaver figures from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. 

The special postal cover is dedicated to the organ donors of India. There is currently a global shortage of organs, but this crisis has a cure and by releasing this special cover MOHAN foundation hopes to create awareness about organ donation and also pay tribute to the organ donors of the country.