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In a remarkable display of humanity, Belgaum MFD Vijay Bhagwat and his wife Vinita Bhagwat have Inspired 95 individuals to pledge their bodies for donation. The couple have also encouraged 260 people to donate their precious eyes.
The Bhagwats' commitment to this selfless cause goes beyond advocacy as both Vijay and Vinita have set a profound example by personally donating their eyes and pledging their bodies for donation.
The couple’s journey into this noble cause was profoundly influenced by the actions of Vijay's parents. In 2000, Vijay's mother donated her eyes. His father followed this noble gesture by donating his entire body in 2015.
During the last rites of his father, Vijay noticed interest among people to know more body donation. He said, “During the last rites of my father, many people enquired about body donation. This is when we thought of making people aware about donating their body.”
Vijay said that people can give back to the society by donating their eyes and body. He said, “While your eyes can give vision to a needy person, organ donations have the potential to save lives and facilitate medical students in their journey to becoming life-saving practitioners.”
One common misconception that Vijay is demystifying is the belief that performing last rites is impossible when one has donated their body. In truth, even if an individual has pledged their body for donation, the final rites can still be performed using nail and hair, said Vijay.
In addition, Vijay has created a fund in which he puts pension money of his deceased mother. This fund is invested in mutual funds and is used to assist underprivileged individuals. In fact, he has generously donated over Rs.20 lakh to support various charitable causes.
Currently, Vijay has AUM of Rs.260 crore from over 1000 clients in mutual funds.