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29 Mar 2024, Edition - 3181, Friday

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Coimbatore

Promoting body donation

Covai Post Network

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Thozhar Trust has coordinated the donation of about 50 cadavers to the Coimbatore Government Medical College Hospital.

By now, most people in Coimbatore know about the Thozhar Trust, started by a group of friends. It started off work on April 1, 2004, helping cremate four unclaimed bodies lying in the Government Hospital morgue, because the members believed that it was very important to accord dignity to the dead. Since then, they have conducted the last rites of more than 2,300 dead people.

Later, they also popularised blood donation — Thozhar members and affiliated people have so far donated about 18,000 units. Now, the Trust is involved in another very important task — body donation. About 50 bodies have been given to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, and the Trust has handed over consent forms from 200 people. “It is a very important kind of donation. We must all look beyond ourselves and focus on the future of mankind,” says P. Shantakumar, who runs the trust with friends S. Sampath Kumar, R. Jeevanandham and P. Annadurai. They facilitated the first body donation about four years ago. “Even now, people are confused about what body donation really means. They confuse it with organ donation. Only the brain dead can donate certain vital organs. If you pass on at home, only your eyes can be easily harvested, provided you follow certain procedures. The fan must not be switched on, the head must be raised using a pillow and the eyes must be covered with a moist cloth. If you pledge to donate your body, imagine how many people will benefit. Doctors can learn so much from it. It is very valuable for research purposes,” says Shanthakumar.

“Awareness about body donation has increased, but it can go up further. It is a decision that has to be taken by the entire family,” he adds.

The benefits of body donation are immense. That is why the Thozhar Trust has as its slogan for this project — Udalai Saambalaakkaadhe, Samudhayaamaaku (Don’t turn your body into ash, use it for society) and Mannukku Pogum Udalai Maruthuvakkalvikku Kodupeer (Instead of burying your body in the earth, donate it to the medical college). For details, call: 98422-67700 and 98422-51523

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