Why Father Chirammel wants to meet and talk
with a Malayali nurse based in UK
Staff Reporter
Story Dated: 2013-02-10
Could an individual save nine lives? Ajimol Pradeep, a Manchester researcher and organ donation
campaigner feels so. She states that as many as nine lives could return to earth if the kidneys, pancreas,
liver, lungs, heart and eyes are donated, even after an individual has passed away. In this regard, she has
turned out to be a successor to Fr. Davis Chirammel, who has pioneered a movement in Kerala,
disseminating the fine message that donation of one’s kidneys is the noblest of all.
Fr. Chirammel had therefore intimated the team members in UK that he would like to meet Ajimol, who
is the pride of UK Malayalees, if ever he visited the country. It was while approaching the kidney
foundation last year, in connection with an organ donation for a young woman from Leicester that he
had come to know of Ajimol, who has also been
nominated for the British Malayali Best Nurse
Award.
Fr Chirammel Catholic priest and chairman for
Kidney Federation of India has hit the headlines all
over the world by his unprecedented gesture of
love and sacrifice. Comfort for the sick and
weary…..a light along the darkened path…a man of
mercy… understanding and consoling the
grieving.. ’He believes, Important is, not the life, But
the virtue in it .Important are, not the actions, But
the compassion and love in them.
Ajimol has been instrumental in popularizing the organ donation program among the Asian diaspora,
and her initiatives are reportedly much more efficient than the ones put up by the British government,
spending an exorbitant amount. Hundreds of individuals have joined her campaign, and have expressed
their desire to be a part of the organ donation initiative. Her efforts suggest that it would be extremely
difficult to find a person like her from among the Malayali nurses who work in the UK.
Having arrived at the UK as a nurse, this slender woman had through her hard work, risen to the level of
a research scholar. When she had sought the support of Bristish Malayali to build up her campaign, they
had never anticipated an impact of this magnitude. Ajimol, who approached around 1000 individuals
with her questionnaire, has been offered a consent form for organ donation by around 400. She is
grateful to these individuals for the support that she has received.
Ajimol and her achievements have been noticed at an international level. International forums attach
immense importance to her findings, since Asian immigration is quite rampant in almost all countries.
Several countries will stand to benefit from her research, and even the media from countries like
Denmark, have arrived to meet up with her.
Her research would soon be transformed into a nationwide campaign in the UK by ITV. Sikh TV and
several radio stations have come up in support of her campaign as well. The results are to be seen as
well, as even Pakistani and Bangladeshi societies that have opposed organ donation on religious
grounds, have come out in support of her. Ajimol who hails from Chungam in Kottayam, Kerala, India
has completed two years of research, believes that a massive change could be brought about if each
individual in Asia decides to donate their organs.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dG1pS3hJ
SXlfMjVGNkhOYXdOWG8zRmc6MQ
Ajimol hopes that several other individuals would be joining the initiative by the time she completes her
study. British Malayali has quite coincidentally had a role to play in Ajimol deciding on the topic of her
research. It should be remembered that British Malayali had published an article on a patient suffering
from renal failure, in which it was suggested that the wait for kidney transplant would cause endless
misery to British Malayalis. The finding that organs donated by British natives would be rejected by the
recipient body is what caught her attention. Dr. Titus Augustine, Clinical Director at Manchester
University Hospital and Prof. Paula Ormandy, PhD lead at University of Salford lent their full support to
her venture.
The kind of achievements that Ajimol has gained in her life often sound almost unbelievable. One also
wonders how it is that this woman is able to present her papers before an audience that consists of
eminent experts in the field and the intelligentsia. This young girl who had had her schooling in an
ordinary Malayalam Medium school in Kerala has presented her findings even in Germany. She hopes to
do the same in Sweden shortly, and was invited to a conference that will be held in Kent.
The British Renal Society that has realized the potentials of her study has hence also agreed to give a
handsome amount as research grant. The study is currently being carried out with support from the
Manchester University Hospital and University of Salford . Of the six individuals selected for BRS out of
around hundred applicants, Ajimol is the only person to have been selected from the field of nursing.
She has had to wade across four ethical committees before she could start her research. Ajimol works as
a transplant coordinator among the patients awaiting an organ transplant in the North West of England.
The Bhagavat Gita, Bible and the Quran have all hailed the attempts to save a human life. However,
Ajimol points out that the interpretations of the holy verses by a few individuals have caused a section
of the human society to have second thoughts about organ donation. The human body is not defiled in
any manner when the retina of a person is donated. The organ donation is carried out, completely
honoring the body of the donor. It’s our ignorance that causes conflicts, adds Ajimol and warns that if
we aren’t really able to bring about this awareness in UK, the lives of the coming generations would be
disastrous.
The study reveals that a majority of the Asians fall in the A+ and B+ blood groups, where as most of the
Caucasians are O+. The human lupas antigen might cause the body to reject the organ, if the donor is an
individual from UK. Statistics suggest that not even 7% of the existing Asian populations in the UK are
willing to donate their organs. However Asians constitute 14% of the waiting list of patients awaiting
organ transplantation. A mere 1% of the Asian populace had agreed to donate their organs last year.
This is infinitely less than the 19.1% of Asian patients who joined the waiting list last year. Statistics thus
prove beyond doubt that the number of patients is increasing day by day.
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the main causes of renal ailments. Asians, of whom Malayalis form
a major chunk, form a considerable size of the patient population. Disorders of the kidney might also
result from the side effects of medicines that are administered to treat these lifestyle diseases. Heredity,
life style, stress, lack of rest and exercise – all these factors and more lead to renal ailments. It has been
pointed out that its difficult for most Malayalis to avoid any one of these, with the kind of fast lives that
they lead in UK. The only way out then would be, to lend a hand to each other. The government has
several limitations as well, and Ajimol hopes that the Malayali society would rise to occasion and take
effectual steps to be of aid to one another.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dG1pS3hJ
SXlfMjVGNkhOYXdOWG8zRmc6MQ
To know more about the study please clicks the links below.

http://southasianorgandonor.org.uk/

South Asian Organ Donation: VIDEO

http://vimeo.com/59574631

http://vimeo.com/59742620
If you believe that Ajimol could be considered as an epitome of Malayali pride in the UK, do
not hesitate any further. Cast your votes in favor of Ajimol now, by clicking on the link given
below.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dG1pS3hJ
SXlfMjVGNkhOYXdOWG8zRmc6MQ