Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I The Times of India I August 1, 2013 I Page 4

Calling organ donation the greatest form of charity, Islamic scholar and peace promoter Maulana Wahiduddin Khan stressed on the need for creating awareness on the issue. Speaking at a seminar organized by The Times of India on Wednesday, Khan said there is no teaching in Islam that restricts this kind of donation.

"When we donate an organ, we lose nothing. It's the greatest form of charity," the Khan added.

His views were supported by other panelists, including Ezekiel Isaac Malekar, honorary secretary of the Judah Hyam Synagogue; Yogi Ashwini, founder-guru of the Dhyaan foundation; Dr Avnish Seth, the head of the Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant program; clinical psychologist Dr Pulkit Sharma; executive director of the MOHAN foundation Pallavi Kumar, among others.

The idea that Judaism prohibits organ donation, said Malekar, is a misconception. "The best act in Judaism is to save a life," he said, adding that his aunt — who lives in Israel — had donated her body to science for medical purpose. "In Israel, the benefits of organ donation are discussed openly. However, that is not the case in India. We need to be more aware," the expert said.

Some of the donor families and recipients were also present in the seminar. Kanupriya Goel, who lost her four-and- a-half year-old daughter, donated her kid's organs. The retrieved organs were used to save five lives. Kanupriya said, "The idea of donating for me was that her life was worth something, her life wasn't wasted."

While Spain has 35 organ donors per million people, Britain has 27, US has 26, Canada has 14 and Australia has 11, India's count of organ donors stands at 0.16 per million population.