India, Feb. 8 -- "While casually checking my messages on my phone a few years ago, I saw a forwarded message that said, 'Need O-positive liver for transplant'. I assumed someone needed blood and since I was O +ve, I responded to the call," said Varsha Kavishkar, 58, a retired school principal from Mumbai. "But the person at the other end said they needed an organ."

She said it took a day for it to sink in and to understand the process. "The next day I agreed," she said. The organ coordinator from a Delhi hospital explained the process of liver donation and that the liver is regenerative. "I told my family of my decision. Initially, they were sceptical but eventually they agreed," she said.

Kavishkar was speaking at an organ donation awa...