Panaji : Over 50 employees of the Social Welfare Department pledged to donate organs during an organ donation awareness session held at the Directorate of Social Welfare recently.
“I am proud that out of 70 staff from my department 50 have registered for organ donation, whereas in the entire Goa there are only 1,500 registered donors,” said Director of Social Welfare Ajit Panchwadkar, while speaking during the function.
He said that “this is just a small gesture from where we get chance to return back to the society”. One person dies every 15 minutes and 5 lakhs per year for non-availability of organ in India. “My department’s small gesture can save many lives in future,” he added.
“If more people come forward and register as donors, we can save many lives. It is a simple act that can make a huge difference,” Panchwadkar said.
The State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO) conducted a sensitisation session at the Directorate of Social Welfare. The session was to raise awareness among government employees about the importance of organ donation and the urgent need to bridge the gap between demand and availability, said SOTTO’s joint director Preeti Varghese.
Shraddha Kelkar, coordinator, led the session by sharing detailed information on organ donation procedures, benefits, and the critical role individuals can play in saving lives. Over 70 employees of the Social Welfare Department attended the session and 50 took a pledge to donate their organs.
Varghese, spoke about the seriousness of the issue, saying, “Every year, nearly five lakh people in India lose their lives due to organ failure. This number is alarming, and we need to do more to bring change.”
Varghese spoke about the gap between the number of patients waiting for transplants and the number of organ donors. “Currently, only kidney transplants are conducted in Goa. About 70 patients are on the waiting list, but only around 1,500 citizens have registered as organ donors,” she said.
“To increase this number, we are working at the grassroots level and conducting awareness sessions across the state,” she added.
