Saluting the Donor Families’ Spirit of Giving, ‘Wall of Tribute’ Unveiled at Fortis Hospital, Mulund

In an initiative supported by Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant(FORT) and chief guest Shatrughan Sinha; 19 donor families came together to unveil the ‘Wall of Tribute’ at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, today. Through this first-of-its-kind effort in the country, Fortis Healthcare endeavours to keep alive the memory of organ donors and honour their families, through this MoreToGive initiative, which is being rolled out pan-India.

Fortis Healthcare believes in the cause of Organ Donation and through this initiative, acknowledges the magnanimous gift of life, and brings to life the thought that only by driving systematic change in perception and attitude towards Organ Donation, can there be increase in Organ Donor registry. The ‘Wall of Tribute’ highlights the names of the donors, along with the date of donation; who enriched lives beyond life of numerous end-stage organ failure patients.

Donor families from Surat, Pune, Aurangabad and Mumbai were joined by representatives from NGO Donate Life & Muskaan and civic officials from Traffic, Police and Airport Authority of India, without whom the transplant wouldn’t have become a reality. The brave donor families were felicitated for their noble contribution by Hon. Shatrughan Sinha, Dr Avnish Seth, Director, FORT, Mr Raj Gore, COO-Region West & South, Fortis Healthcare, Dr S Narayani, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, Actress & social influencer Shilpa Tulaskar, Hon. Mrs Nirmala Samant, Ex-Mayor Mumbai & donor family representative and Dr Anvay Mulay, Head of Cardiac Transplant Team, Fortis Hospital, Mulund.

Joining the unveiling of the ‘Wall of Tribute’ and the Donor felicitation program, chief guest Hon. Shatrughan Sinha said, “Our country needs many more heroes like these donor families. Medical innovation, over the years, has progressed in leap and bounds but there has been sporadic progress towards ‘Organ Donation’. Need of the hour is to bring together all socially responsible stakeholders who will reach out to masses, thereby driving significant change in approach towards the cause. Nationwide awakening about the cause, will help gradually bridge the Donor-Recipient gap”. Mr. Sinha specially appreciated the efforts of Mumbai Traffic and Police authorities for their precise coordination in making these transplants a success.

Dr Avnish Seth, Director, FORT, said, “Rate of Organ Donation in the country has increased 10-fold over the last five years; from 0.05 per million to 0.5 per million. Our country as a whole needs to take up the cause of Organ Donation on priority and we as the medical community have to take the lead. Brain Stem Deaths are widely unrecognized and unreported – that needs to change. Ever increasing recipients list is causing major organ shortage crisis as the Donor-Recipient ratio remains skewed”.

Mr Raj Gore, COO-Region West & South, Fortis Healthcare, said, “We are immensely proud of the donors and their families, for their contribution is unmatched. We salute these families for saving and enriching lives of the recipients by setting an example for rest of us that - each of us has MoreToGive. We hope to have more such courageous families join hands to create awareness, educate and reinforce the importance of this noble cause of organ donation”.

Dr Anvay Mulay, Head of Cardiac Transplant Team, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, said “These donors, through their selfless act, have helped champion the cause of Organ Donation. The harvested organs could be successfully transplanted into recipients only because of the clockwork-like coordination between the allied hospitals, Medical Social Workers, ZTCC, Min of Health, Traffic & Police authorities, Aviation personnel NGO’s etc., who cannot be thanked enough. As a trend, donations and transplants of Heart, Liver, Kidneys, and Corneas have gradually increased, but what is needed is a nation-wide awakening that will help bridge the Donor-Recipient gap. We hope to see many more ‘Angels of Hope’ join our endeavour to save and enrich lives”.

Dr S Narayani, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, said, “This initiative is our humble tribute to the deceased and their families, who set golden examples for many to follow. We’ve partnered with multiple stakeholders and entities to propagate awareness and contribute more and more by creating awareness about Organ Donation. Numerous engaging, informative and innovation initiatives have been and will be rolled out in the following months, with the support of socially responsible stakeholders. Through our initiatives - ‘Hands of Hope’, ‘Gift of Life’ and ‘Angels of Hope’ we have managed to tap and positively engage stakeholders within the state, which will definitely have a positive impact on number of Organ Donations”.

This engaging program witnessed the Donor families sharing their experience through the donation process and were also seen interacting with the transplant surgeons to understand how their beloved’s contribution has given another family the ‘Gift of Life’.

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