Chennai, March 27(IANS) Several hundred employees of HCL Technologies, a computer major, Thursday pledged to donate their organs in response to their company’s initiative to promote organ donation in India. It is the first time that a major corporate house has taken such initiative.

The community service council of HCL Technologies, Chennai, organised a camp here in association with Mohan (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation, a non-governmental organization, to clear misconceptions about organ donation.

Sunil Shroff and Sumana, two physicians from the Mohan Foundation, made a presentation on what is ‘brain death’, how and when does it happen and about how to donate the organs if this happens to oneself or to a dear one.

Hundreds of geeks and upwardly mobile techies gathered at the camp were told to “give a thought to the myths and facts about organ donation.”

“This is the first camp of its kind,” said HCL deputy general manager Ravi Kishore, who is steering the campaign.

“It is a novel experience,” said T.S. Seema, a 24-year-old computer engineer. “I had never thought about this, now I feel proud that my organs may one day help someone else live.”

Kishore said similar camps would be held in all the HCL offices in Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Noida and Hyderabad, in collaboration with the Mohan Foundation.

The Foundation issued donor cards and handed out brochures explaining the process in organ donation.

HCL Technologies employs nearly 20,000 people.

About 200,000 people in India die every year of liver failure and only about 200 transplants are possible annually as organ donation is yet to catch up in the country.

The Foundation says that in India every year over 100,000 people are diagnosed to have kidney failure but due to non-availability of organs, only about 2,500 kidney transplants are done.

• Mohan