PM Modi applauds Shivani's family, links organ donation to India's 'Brain Research Mission'

Text Size:

The courageous decision of a family from Narmadapuram (Hoshangabad) in Madhya Pradesh to donate the organs of their loved one after a tragic road accident found special mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 'Mann Ki Baat' address on Sunday, as he linked the act of organ donation to India’s pioneering brain research efforts.  

Referring to “Shivani ji”, a woman from Narmadapuram, the Prime Minister said she had become a victim of a road accident. Even in that moment of profound grief, her family made an inspiring decision to donate her organs.

This act, he said, has sent a powerful message to society and the entire country. Such decisions not only save multiple lives but also make advanced scientific research possible.

PM Modi connected this human story to the cutting-edge work underway at the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre at IIT Madras, which he had inaugurated recently.

During that visit, he had met young scientific talents engaged in research that could change the future of humanity. One of the key areas of focus is brain research. The centre has developed a world-class brain imaging technology platform that creates high-resolution digital 3D images of the human brain. Its mission is to carry out detailed 3D mapping of 100 human brains - the first such initiative of its kind in the world.

The Param Shakti supercomputer is being used for this complex work. Both the government and Indian industry have played a major role in establishing the centre.

The Prime Minister noted that diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia still lack definitive solutions. The deeper the understanding of how the human brain functions, the greater the chances of finding new pathways for treatment. The data generated from this research will be made available as open source for scientists across different fields.

Highlighting the critical role of organ donation in such advanced studies, PM Modi said people who donate organs after death not only give the gift of life to others but also enable breakthrough research.

He held up the decision of Shivani’s family as an example worthy of emulation by society.

Bilash Tanti Sharma, popularly known as Shivani, a resident of Khapa Khurd village in Bankhedi tehsil of Narmadapuram district, met with a severe road accident on October 10, while travelling with her family for darshan at the Vijayasan Devi Temple in Salkanpur during Navratri.

She sustained critical head injuries and was admitted to AIIMS Bhopal, where doctors declared her brain-stem dead on October 14. In their moment of immense grief, her family took the courageous decision to donate her organs. The organ retrieval was completed on October 15. One of her kidneys was successfully transplanted at AIIMS Bhopal, while the other kidney and liver were transplanted at a private Hospital in Bhopal, giving a new lease of life to three patients. She was cremated with “Guard Of Honour”.

More in Health & Lifestyle