In order to encourage people from all walks of life to come ahead and pledge their organs, Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, a part of the SNR Sons Charitable Trust, has announced plans of conducting a massive organ donation drive on March 19, Saturday, at SNR Sons college ground, Nava India, Coimbatore between 8 am and 4 pm.

Addressing the media today, V. Ramakrishna, the Chief Operating Officer, said “We hope to gather at least 15,000 organ donor pledges through this drive. We have asked the Guinness world records team to be part of this noble event. This will be a record attempt for ‘most people to sign as organ donors in 8 hours,’” Ramakrishna said.

The current record in this category was made in Rohtak, Haryana, in 2013, where 10,451 people came forward and pledged their organs in the stipulated time of eight hours.

In order to encourage participation from students and corporate houses, the SNR Sons Charitable Trust has made arrangements for certificates of participation to be issued on behalf of the Guinness Book of Records to the institutions and companies who bring in the maximum number of donors.

The public can donate either or all of the following organs – kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, small bowel, pancreas, skin, eyes, and bones. “We have been working for the last three months with NGOs, volunteers and good Samaritans of the city of Coimbatore to achieve our goal of spreading the importance of organ donation at malls, public places, colleges, and at happy streets. All the participants will be issued a donor card from the Government of Tamil Nadu,” Swathi Rohit, Chief Business Officer, SNR Sons Charitable Trust, said.

At the press meet, Dr. P. Sukumaran, Director of Medical Services, SNR Sons Charitable Trust, said that those who are over the age of 18 can participate in this massive organ donation event. “Even those suffering from lifestyle disease like diabetes and obesity can sign the pledge to donate their organs,” Dr. Sukumaran said.

Tamil Nadu tops the list of states with maximum organ donations in the country. In Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore stands right next to Chennai among the cities with maximum organ donors. But the demand far outnumbers the supply. Each year, more than five lakh people in India die due to the non-availability of vital organs. Experts point out that this number is projected to grow 15 percent each year.

Of all the organs, the demand for the liver is the highest. Each year, in India, about two lakh people lose their lives waiting for a liver while 1.5 lakh people who are unable to find donors die from kidney diseases and disorders. 50,000 people die each year waiting for a donor heart.