Mumbai: Ten months ago, when Jayashree Solanki, in her mid-40s, was visiting her native place in Maharashtra, little did she know that a tragic incident would change her perception towards organ donation forever. The tragedy was her ailing father’s demise. Jayashree, who was aware about organ donation, donated her father’s eyes in a hospital of Mumbai. On knowing that two people had benefited from her father’s eyes, an overwhelmed Jayashree decided to tell more people about organ donation. Being the President of a Rotary Club of Thane, Jayashree proposed the idea of organising a bike rally and her proposal was immediately accepted.
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Today, most of the people are aware about organ donation like I was a few month ago. However, it was only after I experienced the joy of donating my loved one’s organs that I realised the magic an act of donating organs can create. Being part of a club that actively works towards social causes, I thought why not take up the issue of organ donation, Jayashree tells NDTV.
As soon as the announcement of a bike rally to spread awareness on organ donation was made public, women from all walks of life came forward and registered for the rally. So far, 300 women including housewives, businesswomen, teachers, college students and so on have registered for the rally that will take place on Dussehra (October 18). 150 bikes have been arranged by the participants and the club. While half of them will ride the bike, the other half will sit behind them carrying placards on slogans of organ donation. In addition to the bikes, 25 rickshaws with female drivers and two ambulances will also be a part of the rally. People interested in donation can register themselves with the club members or with the ambulance on that day itself.
The 1.5 kilometre bike rally will commence at 3 pm from Neelkanth Heights and is expected to finish by 6 pm at Shree Ram Vyayamshala at Talaopali. Slogans encouraging people to donate organs will be shouted by the participants at multiple locations. Slogans like ‘Do not waste, what you cannot use’, ‘Keep your eyes alive after death’, ‘Be an organ donor, all it costs is a little love’ and so on will be used adds Ms Jayashree.
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Since the rally will take place on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra, participants will wear Nauvari saree, a traditional outfit famous in Maharashtra.
On Dussehra, women wear the nauvari saree as the bright and colourful patterns make them look beautiful. Our aim is to attract maximum attention towards our cause and nauvari saree are a sure shot way to do that. A pheta or a turban will also be provided to the participants, says Jayashree.
Talking about the dire need to bust people’s myth about organ donation, one of the registered participants says,
More than convincing people to donate organs, we must focus on informing them about several myths that pertain around organ donation. Due to traditional customs and beliefs people often hesitate to donate their loved ones’ organs thinking that this might disfigure their body or hurt them. We need to first drive out the wrong notions and then encourage them to donate organs.
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NDTV – Fortis More To Give campaign aims to promote organ donation and encourage Indians to take the pledge to be an organ donor. India has among the lowest rates of organ donation in the world at 0.5 donor per million population, which is far less compared to over 30 donors per million in some western countries. On an average, five lakh Indians die every year unable to get an organ transplant in time due to the shortage of organs. Every year on National Organ Donation Day on November 27, a Walkathon is organised across different cities of India to raise awareness, bust myths about organ donation and encourage people to become organ donors. Over the years, the campaign has gathered support from celebrities like actor Irrfan Khan, Swara Bhasker, Gul Panag and Former Indian Hockey Captain Sandeep Singh.
