KOZHIKODE: In an appreciable move, the district panchayat is setting a model in organ donation with its staff and elected members coming forward voluntarily to donate their organs after death. The move is part of the local body’s ambitious initiative titled ‘Jeeval Dana’ which is intended to promote organ donation among the public.
All elected members including district panchayat president Sheeja Sasi and secretary Ahammed Kabeer will soon submit their consent letters to ‘Mrithasanjeevani’, Kerala Network of Organ Sharing.Sheeja Sasi said, “The move is a part of our efforts to promote organ donation and encourage people to come forward to pledge their organs after death. All 33 elected members and 27 staff have decided to donate their organs as part of ‘Jeeval Dana’ scheme.
So far, the civic body has received consent letters from 18 staffers and seven district panchayat members, apart from eight employees of the engineering wing. It is expected that the remaining members and staffers will sign the consent letters shortly, enabling the local body to achieve 100% participation in the initiative.”
The consent letters will be handed over to ‘Mrithasanjeevani’ officials at an elaborate function after receiving letters from all staff and employees.The local body has rolled out massive campaigns to make public aware about the importance and procedures of organ donation in connection with ‘Jeeval Dana’.
The programmes were mainly conducted in association with education institutions and government departments and NGOs.