Though it was a slow start for the Gift of Life— Organ Donation Awareness Society, it eventually picked up momentum as people like Dr Baldev Singh Aulakh and Manjula Jain joined in. Around 25 people, including teachers, doctors, businessmen and lawyers have now come together for GLODAS.

Says Dr Baldev Singh Aulakh of Renal Transplant and Urology Department, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, “There are around 1.5 lakh people who need kidney transplant every year but only a fraction of them (roughly 5,000) are lucky enough to undergo a kidney transplant”. Aulakh is also the president of GLODAS.

He says the reason is that people are still not aware of cadaver donations. Relatives, too, are not forthcoming when it comes to giving consent, says Aulakh.

Manjula Jain, the general secretary of GLODAS, says she was moved by a newspaper report about an Italian who had come to DMCH to attend a seminar.

“This person’s eight-year-old died and he made a cadaver donation which saved 8 people’s lives. It was amazing, the kind of spirit this father showed. And I decided that I was late. So I called up Dr L S Chawla, who directed me to Dr Aulakh,” says Manjula.

Dr Aulakh says the infamous kidney scam happened because of a huge gap between the demand for kidneys and their availability. The gap, he says, is because of lack of awareness among people, many of whom are not even aware of cadaver donation.

Professor Mukti Gill, a teacher at Khalsa College for Women, who is the joint secretary of GLODAS, says she was moved by the cause.