On 6^th April 2021, MOHAN Foundation received a call from Dr. Kuldeep (Consultant, Medical-ICU at the Artemis Hospital) informing us about a family who wished to opt for body donation. I immediately went to meet him and the family, subsequent to which we coordinated with DadhichiDehDaan Samiti (an NGO that helps facilitate body donation on behalf of families) and the body was handed over to AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) New Delhi.

The deceased noble soul was 72-year-old Mrs. Prabha Singh.

Mrs. Prabha Singh was born and brought up in Ghaziabad and she had a Master’s degree in Hindi. She got married to Mr. Shripal Singh and post marriage she shifted to Chhattisgarh where her husband was working with BALCO (Bharat Aluminium Company). She started working as a teacher in DAV school in Chhattisgarh and by the time of retirement she was the principal of that school. Her husband retired in 2000 and after 27 years of living there, they moved back to Ghaziabad.

Prabha  and her husband had recently completed 50 years of married life and shared a very close bond. While they had their share of disagreement, they were very deeply aligned in their thinking, their values and way of life. The couple had taken the decision to donate their bodies after death for medical research. They had taken this decision independently, without discussing with anyone and wanted their children to honour their wish.

Her son, Swadeep, while speaking with me told me that donating her body was not an option for them. The couple had discussed this just 6-7 years back and his father reminded them of this discussion when the news of her death was declared by the doctor. It was her wish and it had to be honoured.

Swadeep himself had faced a tragedy when in 2016, he lost his wife. It was during this tough time that his parents shifted with him to Rajasthan to take care of their two grandchildren. Swadeep says, “She was a very emotional and kind hearted woman who believed in simple living, high thinking. She was a teacher, a great administrator, a homemaker and after retirement decided to completely devote her time to family.”

He further adds, her mom was the “backbone of the family - how she took care of my kids is commendable. More than a grandmother she was a mother to them.”

She was an animal lover and especially very fond of cats and they had two cats at home. Recently Swadeep had bought a new car and he took his mom for a drive. “She was very emotional during the drive”, reminisces her son.

During these unprecedented times the family has shown courage to fulfill the last wish of their beloved one and MOHAN Foundation salutes them for this noble act. It also reiterates the importance of family discussion on donation.

-        Shafia Malik

Transplant coordinator

Artemis Hospital

Gurgaon