Organ Donation Week: Actors Swara Bhasker, Gul Panag Flag Off The Nationwide #MoreToGive Walkathon To Urge People To Donate Organs

Actor Swara Bhasker flags off the nationwide Walkathon in Gurugram. Urging citizens to take the pledge to donate organs, the actor spoke about the 'shamefully' low rate of organ donation in India. "We are living in times when there is a lot of talk on nationalism and patriotism and the act of organ donation is in a way patriotism. We have a culture of giving, let us all pledge to give our organs and save lives."

A crisp Sunday morning in Mumbai saw hundreds turn out for the flag off the NDTV-Fortis More To Give Walkathon with Actor Gul Panag, along with doctors Pankaj Mehshwari and Rahul Pandit. Dr Pandit said that against the 4,00,000 to 5,00,000 organs required in India every year, less than 1,000 are available which makes the awareness programmes highly important. Thanking those who choose to pledge their organs, Mumbai began its Walkathon.

Joining from Mumbai actor Gul Panag says that all of us have #MoreToGive, "We all should come forward towards the cause of #OrganDonation in India."

The 6-city Organ Donation Walkathon kicked off from Chennai's Elliot's Beach. Gracing the occasion were athlete Shiny Wilson and actor-director Chidambaran Arun, along with several donor and recipient families who were present to spread awareness. Mr Arun said that similar to reusing paper and plastic, organs should be reused too. Elliot's beach also saw an emotional meeting between the families of several donors and recipients who walked together as part of the 2.5km Walkathon

Promising to pledge his own organs and requesting others to do the same, hockey legend Balbir Singh Dosanjh reiterated the importance of organ donation. Along with Mr Singh, also present were Dr Mukut Minz, Head of Organ Transplants at Fortis and Dr G.D. Puri, Acting Director of PGIMER, Chandigarh. Pointing out the subtle changes in India's organ donation scenario, Dr Minz said that families are themselves approaching doctors for donations in many cases. Confident that awareness campaigns will make a difference, the dignitaries flagged off the Walkathon with an enthusiastic Mohali crowd.

This year the #MoreToGive campaign's focus is to highlight the plight of those who are on the waiting list for organ transplants.

Jaipur District Collector Siddharth Mahajan, Prateem Tamboli Zonal Director Fortis flag off the 2 kilometre organ donation walkathon in Jaipur

People gather in huge numbers in Gurugram on a Sunday morning braving poor air quality to support the cause of organ donation. Half a million people die in India every year, waiting for organ transplant, as there are very few who donate organs in India. The organ donation rate in India 0.8 per million population, which is one of the lowest in the world.

Mumbaikars undertake the organ donation pledge. Organ donation is limited to 12 states and Union Territories in the country, and that too mostly in the capital cities

Students from Guru Gobind Singh Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Mohali march to spread awareness about organ donation during the Walkathon