THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On their farewell day, the 21 PG students of Kerala University's 2023-25 MA Sociology batch decided to move beyond promises of staying in touch, and pledged to donate their organs by registering in the government's organ donation network.
Their commendable initiative comes even as Kerala slipped to the 12th spot in the nationwide list of states pledging organ donation. “One of our classmates brought the news to our notice when we were thinking about ways to make our farewell a bit special,” said Jishma T S.
Not all students were willing initially. “Two students had doubts. However, once their doubts were cleared, they agreed,” Jishma said, adding that the department was completely supportive.
Jishma said their main aim was to create awareness about organ donation on the campus. “Upon sharing photos and posters of our programme, students from other batches too inquired about the pledging procedure,” she said, citing it as the success of their move.
Ganga V R, another student, said this was one of the many activities initiated by their batch. “While our subject is socially committed, our academic rigidity won't allow us to do much beyond the syllabus,” she said. Students were willing to go that extra mile and take extra time for this.
“The batch has set an extraordinary example of how classroom learning can be transformed into meaningful social action,” said sociology department head Bushra Begum. Sandhya R S, a senior faculty member, said the students took an initiative that even many teachers hesitate to take.