MARGAO: Six years ago, when Gabriel Pereira’s family faced a medical emergency, he did not predict that their stressful experience would lead him to become a full-time organ donation ambassador.
His sister-in-law was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure and needed a kidney transplant. With a long waiting list for cadaver kidneys, Gabriel’s wife decided to give her sister a kidney, but due to her hypertension, she was deemed an unsuitable candidate.
“In the end, my sister-in-law’s husband became the kidney donor, despite not being a blood or HLA match. The successful transplant, while requiring her to take immunosuppressant drugs and adhere to strict precautions, ultimately freed her from dialysis,” he recalls.
The entire experience ignited a fervour within him, compelling him to advocate for organ donation in Goa. He realised that the State lacked awareness and infrastructure for organ transplantation. With this newfound mission, Gabriel sought inspiration from MOHAN Foundation and its founder, Dr Sunil Shroff, based in Chennai.
He underwent the ‘Gift of Life’ course with MOHAN Foundation, equipping himself with the knowledge and tools needed to drive change. He initially collaborated with nephrologist Dr Amol Mahaldar, and soon gained the confidence to deliver awareness talks at schools, colleges, and corporate entities across the State, on his own.
“When a person receives a calling, it’s usually a spiritual one.
But to be an organ donation
ambassador came to me spontaneously—this was my calling,” Gabriel reflects.
Over the past four to five years, Gabriel has presented at over 30 schools, colleges, clubs, and various other platforms. He is now gearing up to expand his outreach to parishes, collaborating with priests and youth to encourage organ donation pledges and awareness within the church community.
Gabriel’s innovative approach extends to setting up organ donation help desks at markets, pop-up bazaars, festivals, and blood donation camps. Utilising visual aids such as videos and flyers, he ensures that information about organ donation registers effectively in people’s minds. “I often tap into methods learnt during my 15 years’ experience in sales and marketing,” he says.
He also advocates for improvements in the organ donation infrastructure in Goa. Despite the region’s potential, it still lacks an eye bank, and even heart and liver transplants remain uncharted territory. “We have heard many announcements, many assurances from the government about a tissue bank and eye bank and cadaver organ transplants, but they do not give a timeline,” he laments. “There are now two private hospitals that perform corneal transplants, but they get corneas from outside the State,” he added. There are at least 1,000 people undergoing dialysis in Goa, and around 40 on the waiting list for donor kidneys, he says.
“I also advocate for full body donation to science- organ donors who die at home, or aren’t declared brain dead can also choose to donate their body to Goa Medical College, to help medical students hone their skills,” he adds.
Gabriel also mans the MOHAN Foundation organ donation helpline, responding to calls from remote areas in the dead of night. Bereaved families reach out, expressing their desire to donate their loved ones’ organs. In those challenging moments, Gabriel becomes the bridge connecting them to the right person or coordinator for their area.
