One week Foundation Course in Counseling and Transplant Coordination was held from 14th to 18th December 2015 at Yashoda Hospitals, Secunderabad. There were 48 participants from various parts of India – Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Gujarat.

At the inaugural function, Dr. Narsimha Rao, Vice President, Yashoda Hospital, said that deceased organ donation is the solution to organ shortage in India. Mrs. Lalitha Raghuram, Country Director, Dr. Sumana Navin, Course Director, Dr. Koti Reddy, Director – Liaison & Strategy from MOHAN Foundation was present at the inaugural function. The MOHAN Foundation faculty also included Ms. Sujatha Niranjan and Dr. Bhanu Chandra.

There were coherent presentations on the medical aspects of organ donation and transplantation by Dr. Prabir Kumar Roy, Dr. P.B.N Gopal, Dr. Urmila Anandh, Dr. Amardeep Yadav, Dr. Kamal Kiran, Dr. Alla Gokhale, and Dr. Manisha Sahay. Ms. Jayalaxmi and Dr. Bhanu Chandra, senior transplant coordinators from Hyderabad discussed day-to-day challenges in living and deceased organ donation and ways to tackle them.

MOHAN Foundation faculty shared moving donor stories, grief counseling, life skills for a transplant coordinator, legal aspects of organ donation and transplantation, establishment of a deceased donation programme in a hospital, the successful experience in the  Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai, role of public education and social media in organ donation. Following a post training evaluation, certificates were handed over to the participants by Dr. Surendar Rao at the valedictory session.