MOHAN (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation and NATCO (National Association of Transplant Coordinators) organized the 5th Annual Transplant Coordinators' Workshop “ASAMJANAt  Coordinating the Gift of Life” on 28 & 29th September 2012 at Radha Regent, Arumbakkam,Chennai. This workshop acted as a platform for Transplant Coordinators across the country to meet, interact and impart their knowledge on organ donation and transplantation. The workshop was attended by 250 delegates comprising nurses, transplant coordinators, medical social workers, paramedics and nursing students.

 Mr.K Raghuram felicitates Dr.M.K.Mani, Chief Nephrologist, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai

One of the highlights of the Workshop was the sharing of the Malaysian experience with deceased organ donation and transplantation by Dr.Muhammed Anis Bin Abd.Wahab, Clinical Manager & Deputy Head of Department and Ms. Santi Krishnan, Transplant Coordinator, National Transplant Resource Centre (NTRC), Malaysia. Dr. Muhammed Anis Bin Abd. Wahab gave an outline of the deceased donation program in his country. He said that in his country there were 2 centres for kidney and liver transplantations and 1 centre for heart transplantation. The organ donation rate for the year 2011 was 1.7 per million population. There were 47 deceased organ donors in 2011. From 2000 to 2011 there were a total of 321 deceased organ donors. He said that the consent rate last year was 51% and that efforts need to continue to create awareness about the value of organ donation in the local population.

Ms. Santi Krishnan gave an outline of her work as a donor coordinator. She said that her job had very high expectations and she needed to interact with a lot of people in the government to get a donation and transplantation organized. She said that the SOP – Standard Operating Procedure - needed to be updated frequently and all the forms had to be translated in vernacular. She said that the method of obtaining consent for organ donation in the Asian region was different from that of Europe, UK and USA because of socio-cultural differences. In Asian countries, family consent is essential prior to organ donation and all decisions are taken as a group. Thus it becomes even more important to have a transplant coordinator in place to guide the family with the correct information. She also asked for an Asian model of training for transplant coordinators to be developed and hoped to collaborate with MOHAN Foundation on this through E-learning.

Donor family members spoke of their experiences and the value of the transplant coordinator in their time of grief. At the same time recipients, thanked the deceased organ donors and their families for giving them the Gift of Life. They also expressed their gratitude to the transplant coordinators for their work and passion, which made it possible to have a deceased donor program.

Dr. Muhammed Anis Bin Abd. Wahab, National Transplant Resource Centre, Malaysia at the workshop

Ms.Santi Krishnan, National Transplant Resource Centre, Malaysia being felicitated for donating her father's organs.

Mr.D.Keranal receiving the best transplant coordinator award for the year 2011

Mr.J.Nethaji receiving the best transplant coordinator award for the year 2012

There was a free paper session where articles related to the different aspects of organ donation and transplantation - medical, social and human resources – were presented by the delegates. Papers by Mrs. S. Sujatha, MISManager, MOHAN Foundation and Mrs. Amrita Santhi, Lecturer, College of Nursing, PIMS, Puducherry, were ajudged the two best papers.

The first Swamy Narayan Memorial Lecture was delivered by Dr M.K. Mani, Chief Nephrologist, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, on “Ethics of Organ Donation and Transplantation”. The Swamy Narayan Memorial Lecture has been instituted in memory of 19-year-old Swamy Narayan, a deceased organ donor from within the MOHAN Foundation family. Mrs. Lalitha Raghuram, Swamy Narayan's mother, started the Hyderabad chapter of MOHAN Foundation in 2002 after a long stint with eye donation. In 2004, Swamy Narayan passed away in a tragic road accident in Hyderabad on his birthday on 13th January. Mr. and Mrs. Raghuram donated Swamy Narayan's kidneys, liver and eyes on 15^th January 2004. Mr. & Mrs. Raghuram continue to work for the cause of deceased organ donation.

Dr M. K. Mani in his lecture said that the first successful kidney transplant was done in CMC Vellore in Tamil Nadu in 1971. He added that in the early days of transplantation nearly all the live donors were 'cousins', since the law was not clear on ‘relatives’. Today we need to ensure that organ donation and transplantation is done in a systematic and ethical manner and that there is an equitable sharing of organs from the deceased donor programme. It would be better still if some of the funds were utilized to create awareness on prevention of diseases that cause organ failure.

Ms. D. Keranal, Transplant coordinator, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai and Mr. J. Nethaji, Senior Transplant Coordinator, Global Hospitals, Chennai were given the award for the Swamy Narayan Best Transplant Coordinator in India for 2011 and 2012 respectively.