Sharon English High School took an initiative of conducting a seminar on blood and organ donation on June 30th, 2018. The aim of the session was to create awareness among students on the importance of blood and organ donation and dispel any myths around it. The Giants’ Welfare Foundation was invited to talk to the students, educate them on the processes involved and to reduce any scepticism they feel related to the donation of blood and organs.
The seminar was conducted by Ms. Meera Suresh who is a professional medical practitioner, a social worker and the treasurer of a blood and organ donation organization in Maharashtra. With a narration of her personal blood donation experiences, she gave an engaging start to the seminar. It gave us in the audience goosebumps when we heard that Ms. Suresh started donating blood at the young age of 16 and has so far donated blood over 29 times! She established a committee called Sneha Bandhan Trust in 2001 with the aim of motivating people to donate blood and pledge organ donation
We were introduced to various facts about blood donation. Did you know that blood can be donated only by a person above 18 years? The person donating must not be underweight or on medicines. Only 300 ml of blood is taken during donation drives and is stored in refrigerators. Our blood goes through various tests and is then supplied to blood banks if it is found to be fit and usable.
Through her enlightening talk, we also learnt interesting and new facts about organ donation. Did you know that a liver can be regenerated? Organs like kidney, bone marrow, skin and a part of the liver can be donated when a person is alive. Few people know that skin too can be donated which is used in the treatment of burn victims as a catalyst for skin growth. Burnt parts can recover within 21 days if treated well. A person whose death has been caused by injury to the brain stem can donate all organs except the brain. These were new and revealing facts which we knew little about.
Ms. Suresh used a slideshow presentation to explain the procedure for donation, precautions taken and many unknown interesting facts about our body and our organs. She also explained some misconceptions and myths around blood and organ donation. At the end of the talk, students asked questions and clarified doubts. Ms. Suresh patiently answered our questions and truly inspired us to think about pledging our organs and donating blood in the near future.