Jaipur doctor enlists 12,000 organ donors in Rajasthan
Jaipur-based doctor, Upasana Chaudhary travelled across the state creating awareness about organ donation and busting myths around it through her ‘Angh Rath Yatra’
Seven years after a tragic incident, where she was unable to find a donor for her sick cousin, Upasana Chaudhary from Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district made organ donation her mission. The 28-year-old is now working as a faculty member at the PDU Government College in the district.
“My cousin needed a kidney transplant, but there was no organ donor. My uncle’s HLA (human leukocyte antigen typing) did not match. Even after many attempts, we were not able to prolong his life as he was on dialysis. That’s when I realised that I needed to do something,” Upasana told The New Indian Express.
She adds that Rajasthan is relatively backward when it comes to organ donation in comparison to the southern states. “The system is not sensitive enough and people are unaware. The fact is the dead can help the living beings with their organs,” she said.
From September 25, she began her campaign for organ donation as a member of the NGO, Mahatma Gandhi Swasthya Sansthan as a run up to National Organ Donation Day (November 27). She campaigned across 15 districts in Rajasthan through her ‘Angh Rath Yatra’, where she organised awareness programmes on the importance of organ donation. She used two months of her salary to fund the campaign and succeeded in convincing 12,000 people who enlisted via a written oath.
Upasana Chaudhary and the Yatra team campaigned across 15 districts in Rajasthan (Image: The New Indian Express)
"We show people films where a person's organ, such as the heart, has been donated to the needy. There are some people who are aware but don't know the donation process. We not only raised awareness but also took a pledge from the willing to donate their organs," she said, according to The Logical Indian.
In the ‘Yatra’, she also listed out the various options for organ donation and how people can decide which part of their body will be donated. Upasana and her team also took extra efforts to bust myths around organ donation like being reborn with the donated organs, etc. They did this with the help of local teachers and administration officials.
One of the beneficiaries, Himanshu, a contractor in Bikaner said, “Before I was made aware, I thought we could donate only our eyes after our death. I had no idea about the process. But the Yatra has broadened my vision. I have now pledged to donate all my organs so that others could live a better life.”
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Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan