KOCHI: A section of the Gowda Saraswath Brahmin (GSB) community has taken a noble decision to donate bodies after death, for medical education, putting aside religious faith.
As many as 30 members of the community registered with the Society for Organ Donation and Transplantation (SORT), an NGO based in Kochi, expressing willingness to donate their organs and bodies after death. “The community is highly orthodox, and its members keep utmost faith in traditions and religious ceremonies. Not following such rituals is considered as sin, and body donation is against the tenets of the community as cremation is viewed as a sacred and essential act,” said SORT joint secretary Vasanth Shenoy who belongs to the GSB community.
The members who have come forward for body donation comprise both men and women. Five dead bodies have already been donated to medical colleges over the past two years. SORT has been facilitating body donation to medical colleges in and around Kochi for the past six years. A get-together of the GSB members who have given consent for body donation and their family members will be held at Yasoram Complex at Convent Road on Sunday. At the function, relatives of those whose bodies were donated will be honoured. The group will discuss the implications of body donation and the many myths prevailing in the community.
get-together of members
The members who have come forward for body donation comprise both men and women. A get-together of the GSB members who have given consent for body donation and their family members will be held at Yasoram Complex on Sunday.