In celebration of Organ Donation Week, which ran from 20 to 26 September 2021, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) in the UK launched a new educational video about organ donation and why it is so important to have the conversation with one’s family about one’s wishes.
Organ Donation Week is an annual campaign held in September in the UK that aims to encourage people to join the national organ donor register and to share their decision with their families. This year’s focus is the ‘Leave Them Certain’ campaign that aims to encourage people to talk to their loved ones regarding organ donation, specifically highlighting that families are always involved before organ donation goes ahead.
BAPS has been raising awareness about organ donation for many years. More recently, this has included a
series of short videos emphasising the need for Asians to consider organ donation, how Hinduism supports this, and the importance of registering online and having the conversation with your loved ones.
The video, available to view
here, highlights the current shortage of Asian donors and addresses the misconceptions about organ donation and the Hindu faith, emphasising that organ donation is a form of daan (donation) or seva (service) that Hindu scriptures encourage devotees to offer. The video also illustrates the importance of speaking to family members and friends about organ donation so that individuals can make informed and fact-based decisions.
Dr Neil Soneji, a lead volunteer at BAPS, explained, “Talking with your family about organ donation after death can be a sensitive subject. But this video emphasises why it is so important that we have that conversation, because the family’s consent is always needed for donation to take place, even with the new changes to the law, and even if the patient has registered to be an organ donor. Have the conversation. Leave them certain!”
To learn more about Organ Donation Week, please click
here.
To register for organ donation, please visit the NHS website
here.
Disclaimer: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.