Our Team

Kirit is a kidney transplant recipient. He has been involved in promoting organ donation and supporting kidney patients for many years, since his retirement as an education officer.

He is active within the National Kidney Federation (NKF), has been its Chairman and now has an honorary position with the charity. He is a founding member of NBTA (National BAME Transplant Alliance), has been its Co-chair and now is its Honorary President. He is currently leading the Living Transplant Initiative on behalf of NBTA, an innovative initiative funded by NHSBT, to increase living kidney donors from BAME communities.

He is Chair of the Lister Area Kidney Patients Association. Kirit has frequently spoken to the All-Party Parliamentary Kidney Group to highlight concerns about organ donation within BAME communities. Kirit received a Points of Light award from the Prime Minister for his work on organ donation in 2018.

Some of Ravi’s community roles include being Chair of Sewa Week Organization, Committee Member of Diwali in London and Committee Member of the Ilford Vhp Hindu Centre.

Part of Ravi’s responsibilities are leading certain community events such as co-ordinating NHS organ and blood donorship events in East London and Essex in the BME (black minority ethnic) communities. Ravi plays an active role in educating, encouraging, recruiting people from the BME group to come forward to give blood and organ donorship.

In 2017, Ravi played a valuable role in increasing blood donation from the BME in Essex by 50%. One of the main targets of Sewa Week Organization is to increase blood donation from the BME communities from a national 3% donating to 10% in the next three years in East London and Essex.

Bharti Bhikha is Managing Director of Zinc Communications Ltd, part of a group plc and leaders in factual entertainment, educational programming and digital content producers. Bharti’s agency specialises in creating pro-social communications strategies and behaviour change campaigns for corporates, charities and government department with a purpose to drive positive change and deliver social impact through education and corporate engagement

Bharti has over 20 years of extensive experience working with organisations developing award-winning sustainable campaigns that will engage, educate and inspire audiences to deliver a positive change. Campaigns include; supporting Governments targets on reducing the number of child road casualties in the UK, increasing awareness and uptake amongst young people of the Government’s HPV vaccination programme, promoting issues around mobility, social & diversity inclusion, and many more. She also volunteers within her community supporting them with their communications and actively engaging young people to encourage the importance of organ donation and how it can save lives!

Nemu Chandaria OBE is currently Chairman of The Institute of Jainology and a Trustee of Indian Gymkhana at Osterley.

He serves as a Coordinator for OneJAIN and was a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Oshwal Association of the UK. Nemubhai is also a trustee of the International Sacred Literature Trust and is a recipient of the Jain Ratna award from the Prime Minister of India as well as Her Majesty the Queen for services to the Jain community in the form of the Order of the British Empire.

Niraj lost his father to complications resulting from kidney failure in 2004, while he was waiting for a transplant. Since then, he has worked across the Hindu and Jain communities to raise awareness of organ donation, given the impact that the loss of his father had on him, his sister, and his mother. Niraj has previously worked as a Youth Advisor to NHS England and is currently a 5th-year medical student at UCL.  

After completing of PhD in Neuroscience, pursued further research with the Medical Research Council. Interests include the application of genomics in therapeutic medicine. Dr Jani is married with one son.

Dr Jani undertakes social and community work with SEWA U.K. She recently articulated a nationwide parliament outreach programs for Hindu Youth. Dr Jani serves as a trustee of Param Shakti Peeth of U.K. a registered charity, working for projects of public benefit in the U.K. and creating global awareness of the practice of foeticide and infanticide in India and resettlement of disenfranchised women and children. Dr Jani is a keen sports enthusiast and traveller.

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Manhar Mehta is a professional engineer and has a Master’s degree in Industrial Management. He is the coordinator of the NHSBT’s Living Organ Donation project 2017-2019 for raising awareness of Kidney diseases and the need for the donation of live organs within the Jain community. The project has successfully achieved the planned objectives and milestones set at the inception of the project.

His activities and initiatives include:

• Established a Jain organisation “Jain Samaj Leicester” in 1973
• Served as the executive of the Vanik Council since 1978, and Chairman since 1995.
• Established Jain spiritual care system in hospitals across the UK. His efforts led the NHS to recognise “Jainism” as a faith option for patients.
• Runs a course, ‘Fundamentals of Jainism
• Represents the Jain community on the NHS Healthcare Chaplaincy Multi-Faith Group for many years, served as the Group’s Chairman from 2009-11.

For his service to the Jain community, he has been presented the “OneJain Lifetime Achievement” award at the house of commons by Lord Bourne on the 28^th Mar 2018.

Kirit is the Chair and founder of South Asian Health Action Charity, and Co-chair of the National BAME Transplant Alliance (NBTA). He has developed the Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims Embrace Organ Donation Awareness Campaign and South Asian Faith and Community Ambassadors project.

He also is the Co-Chair of East Midlands Patients, Public and Involvement Senate and has significant paid and voluntary sector experience both as a patient and community activist in research and health

services. He has particular experience and passion in the delivery of equality and diversity particularly in Black and Minority Ethnic communities. He is a Type 2 Diabetic and has set up Leicestershire’s South Asian Diabetes group a peer-led support group.

Sina and Jay are first-generation British Hindus of Gujarati origin, whose parents were born in East Africa and India. Sina works as a Clinical Analyst for Guys & St Thomas’ NHS Trust and Jay works as an Investment Banker at Deutsche Bank in the city.

The couple has been married for almost 20 years and is proud parents of three wonderful children – Aari and twin girls Iyla and Asha.

Both became involved in organ donation following the loss of their 3-year-old son Aari in 2016. The couple both made the decision to donate Aari’s organs, which went on to help two other children who are both still doing well today.

Sina and Jay are NHSBT London Ambassadors for Organ Donation which involves working for the NHS as volunteers to promote organ donation. Aari’s story has also been part of a government campaign to promote organ donations across the BAME communities. Sina and Jay hope to continue promoting this vital cause and hope Aari’s story will make a difference within all communities.

Akshaya Rajangam is a Medical student studying in King’s College London. She is an international student from Singapore and has resided in London for the last 5 years.

She currently serves as one of the National General Secretaries of National Hindu Students’ Forum (NHSF (UK)), the largest Hindu student organisation outside of India. NHSF (UK), founded in 1991, aims to provide a platform for students to engage in promoting, protecting, preserving and practising Hindu Dharma through various events, initiatives and campaigns at a local and national level. The National Donation Month campaign has been a key initiative where students from across 45 universities have come together to raise awareness and registering for blood, organ and stem cell donations. Akshaya has a career interest in surgery and has published and presented clinical research in the field of urology and ENT.

Akshaya is also passionate about Bharatnatyam (Indian classical dance) and holds a diploma with a title award from the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS). Her other interests include painting and reading.

Sejal Saglani is a Professor of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine at Imperial College and The Royal Brompton Hospital, London. She is a volunteer for BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha with Headquarters at the Hindu Temple in Neasden, London. She is Co-Chair of the BAPS Healthcare Team. One of the key objectives of the BAPS Healthcare team is to serve the community by improving Health and Wellness. As such, they are actively engaged in projects that raise awareness of key health issues pertinent to the local Hindu community. Their health awareness activities have focussed on educating the local

community and devotees that attend the Neasden temple and all other BAPS centres in the UK. Events are undertaken in a culturally sensitive way, taking into account lifestyle and preferred language. BAPS has promoted living and deceased organ donation awareness among the South Asian and Hindu community since 2011.

Change communications specialist working with a range of central/local government and public sector clients. Prafula has held several senior positions in UK PR companies before setting up Aawaz Communications and currently working as a freelance consultant.

Successfully delivered communications campaigns for organisations including Royal Mail Group, Network Rail and The Metropolitan Police Services as well as a number of central government departments and local authorities including Brent, leading on the marketing and communications for the Wembley regeneration project.

Prafula donated a kidney in March 2018 through the national kidney sharing scheme so that her niece Shakti could get a kidney transplant, which took place at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Prafula serves as a London organ donation Ambassador for NHSBT and committee member of RFHKPA. As a trustee of the Jain Network and chair of Bhakti Mandal London, Prafula has worked with the Jain community for many years.

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Satya has been interested in Organ donation for three decades. Satya was awarded an MBE in 2010 for designing innovative programmes for promoting OD 2010.

He is the founder Chair of POD (Promoting organ donation group) 2012-18 and also chaired the steering group to arrange MOU between Mohan Foundation India and NHSBT 2015, as well as Co-Chair of the implementation group of the aforementioned 2015 onwards.

Satya has been an Ambassador for NHSBT since 2018.

Dr Neil Soneji is a Consultant Radiologist at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust but also an active volunteer in the Healthcare Team at the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple, Neasden London.

As a team of volunteers, he has been actively involved in various projects promoting the message of Organ Donation in the Hindu Community since 2012. This has included organising conferences, awareness drives and the production of educational videos and leaflets focussing on both living and deceased organ donation.

Events have taken place across the country both within Temples and at external venues with different charities, Temples and co-volunteers also supportive of this good cause.

He hopes to continue to spread the message and educate about the new opt-out legislation within the Hindu Community as part of this Steering Group.

A graduate from Bristol University with a Degree in Business; Meera began her career in Private Health Care as a Project Manager for the General Health Care Group.

Having a stern interest in Global Healthcare, specifically the fast emerging market in India, Meera decided to uproot and move to Mumbai to take on a role as Business Development Consultant for the well-known Diagnostic Testing Centre, NM Medical, Pan India.

Heading projects in Radiology Archiving Systems, International Medical Reporting and in-depth research into International Pathology Testing; she decided to take a break from the corporate world and move back to join the 25-year-old family business; the First Asian Vegetarian Care Home In London- Meera Nursing Home In North West London.

Currently a Business Owner; with her experience in Health Care, Meera Assists her Father, Pramod Bhai Thakkar; in various Charitable and Social Projects in the UK, India & Africa.

Pramodbhai is a Health Care Consultant in the UK and an International Project & Export Consultant for Africa/Asia. He is the Ex-Director of Meera Nursing Home, the first vegetarian care home in North West London. Pramodbhai is also an ex-member of the Board of Governors of Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

He has also previously been a consultant and trustee Of Vaishnav Sangh UK and negotiated, purchased and project managed the refurbishment of a Haveli in Leicester. He has been instrumental in negotiating purchase & arranging loan finance of strategic community Centre in London for £4m.

Pramodbhai serves as Chairman and trustee of Jalaram Charitable Trust Leicester since its inception in 1982. He also chaired and project managed the design and construction of the first Jalaram Bapa’s Temple in the UK at the cost of £1m between 1992 and 1995 and Jalaram Community Centre built in 2016 £0.5m.

The new community centre is designed in such an iconic way that the total complex along with the existing temple is known as “Bapa’s gateway to Leicester”. Pramodbhai also supports local research charities, the homeless, and participates in multi-cultural activities.