Guinness officials present the citation to Chennai's Sri Ramakrishna Medical Institute for record organ donation pledges.
Highlights
- Preparations by medical college students started 2 months ago.
- Students had held awareness campaign at various colleges.
- Only one organ donation happens for every one million people in India.
In a country where organ donation has failed to catch up more than two decades after it was introduced, a hospital in Coimbatore has set a Guinness World Record for popularizing the cause -- enrolling 13,206 donors in just 8 hours.
The idea was the brainchild of the authorities of Sri Ramakrishna Medical Institute.
The preparations had started around 2 months ago. The students of the medical college had gone to other colleges in the city to spread awareness among the youth. Besides college students Home guards and civil society groups too turned up for pledging organs.
Globally, India is way behind when it comes to organ donations - adding up to less than one organ donation for every one million people. In countries like Spain and US, the figure stands at 36 and 30 for one million people.
Tamil Nadu has been leading the race when it comes to organ donations in more ways than one. The green corridor of the Chennai police for fast transportation of donated organs is being replicated across the country. But such a donation campaign is a first.
Devanand, a third year medical student, who came to sign up to donate his liver on Monday, ended up donating all his organs. "After seeing 13,000 people here I changed my mind," he told NDTV.
"More than 5 lakh people die every year in India for of lack of organs. So I have decided to save eight lives by donating my organs," said Lakshmi Bharathi, a science student.
Professor Mohamed Rela, Director, Institute of liver Disease and Transplant Surgery, Global Hospitals, said, "If our donations can becoe even a third of the donations in the west, with a billion-plus population, 10,000 people can donate. That would save at least 70,000 lives a year."