Ms Jaya Jairam, Project Director, MOHAN Foundation and Dr Amit Joshi, Deputy Medical Superintendent & Transplant Lead, Bombay Hospital, Indore completed the Gift of Life Institute's (GOLI) Mini Fellowship in Organ Donation from October 23, 2023 to November 3, 2023.

Jaya Jairam at the Gift of Life Institute, Philadelphia

MOHAN Foundation and GOLI's agreement for mini fellowship aims at helping enhance the deceased donation and transplantation program in India through education and training of donation and transplantation professionals on the best practices in the US.

Gift of Life Donor Program is the USA's largest organ procurement organisation (OPO) that coordinates organ and tissue donations across eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware is a part of USA’s nationwide organ and tissue sharing network run by UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing). It manages all facets of donation process, including hospitals tie-ups, framing hospital protocols and systems for identification and referrals of potential organ and tissue donors, working with hospitals to ensure medical management of brain-dead donors, counselling families to consider organ and tissue donation, coordinating retrieval of organs and tissues, and allocating the organs and tissues to suitable recipients as per UNOS allocation policies.

Jaya Jairam awarded the Mini Fellowship completion certificate by Howard Nathan, Executive Director (left) and Theresa Daly, Director (right) at Gift of Life Transplant Foundation, Philadelphia

The associated training arm - the 'Gift of Life Institute' offers education and training to transplant coordinators, critical care teams and to transplant physicians. It also has active patient support programs and volunteer engagement programs.

The attendees were given an overview of all these aspects, through didactic sessions. They were also given the opportunity to shadow the transplant coordinators at several hospitals, thereby getting a practical understanding of the family conversations, donor maintenance protocols, allocation of organs through UNOS waiting list. They also witnessed the retrieval of organs, thereby getting an understanding of protocols followed, including organ perfusion process.

They were invited to attend 'Life and Legacy' - an event conducted at Atlantic City, New Jersey in which the families of organ and tissue donors were honoured for their act of kindness. Recipients were invited to share about the transformative impact that transplants had on their lives, and the donor families were honoured with a medal and a wrap that was lovingly knitted by volunteers.