Odisha: 3825 people pledge organs in Guinness World Record bid

As many as 3,825 students from various educational institutes across Odisha on Monday pledged to donate their organs in an attempt to create a Guinness World Record.

Students gathered on their respective campuses at Utkal University, Ravenshaw University, Sambalpur University, Berhampur University, Fakir Mohan University in Balasore, Gangadhar Meher University in Sambalpur and Centurion University to sign up for organ donation.

Officials from the Guinness World Records were present to record the event. An institute in Chennai holds the current record for mass organ donation pledge. As many as 1,000 students from 50 colleges under Utkal University, including 400 girls, pledged to donate their organs at the varsity’s sports complex.

A social organisation, the Body and Organ Donation Initiative (BODI), floated the idea to make a record number of pledges. BODI was started by a group of volunteers with support from several universities across the state. The organisation has been working for the past three years and has already collected around 3,000 pledges for organ donation.

A pledge to donate organs allows doctors to remove healthy and transplantable organs and tissues, either after death or while the donor is alive, and transplant them into another person who requires one. Common transplants include kidney, heart, liver, pancreas, intestines, lungs, bones, bone marrow, skin and corneas.

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