Nurse Dr Agimol Pradeep was on duty the day a young woman in her late 20s with liver failure was brought in, close to death. A transplant was her only hope. By chance, or by the Almighty’s grace, Dr Agimol was the on-call transplant coordinator when a match was found.
She escorted the girl to theatre, then cared for her through recovery. he girl survived and made a choice that would shape Dr Agimol’s career. “She then decided to be my patient advocate when we go out in the community to promote organ donation,” Dr Agimol recalled, speaking to Khaleej Times from the southern Indian state of Kerala. “She will always be with me in the journey, reminding me why I do this job.”
Dr Agimol, a Senior Transplant Coordinator at King’s College Hospital, was sharing her experience just moments after being named winner of the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award 2026 in a grand ceremony that took place in the metropolitan city of Kochi. “Winning an award, representing my home country, India, in my birth land, Kerala, is beyond any imagination,” she said.
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Since its launch in 2021, the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award has grown into a global platform that celebrates nurses who are advancing the profession and creating meaningful change. This year drew over 134,000 registrations from 214 countries, bringing forward stories of nurses working across different healthcare settings, communities and disciplines.
Dedicating her work
That moment with the young woman was a turning point in Dr Agimol’s life. It was the start of her career built on noticing what others overlook. Early in her work, she saw that South Asian patients were dying while waiting for transplants, because too few donors shared their ethnicity.
She pursued a PhD examining the cultural, religious and social barriers stopping Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi families from donating. She didn’t stop at research. She worked directly with religious leaders and community groups, and co-founded Upahaar, a volunteer initiative that has registered over 10,000 organ and stem cell donors.
Throughout her career, she has dedicated her work to addressing inequities in healthcare and strengthening access to care. Her work has also contributed to regulatory change enabling internationally trained nurses to re-enter the UK workforce, helping address critical workforce shortages. Her contributions to patient access, community engagement and healthcare capacity have earned her recognition including the British Empire Medal.
True calling
Born and raised in the city of Kottayam, Dr Agimol knew early that nursing was her path and her decision. “I could see that I could make a large change with this career,” she said.
She now plans to invest half her $250,000 prize in Upahaar and the rest in nursing education. “It’s about empowering more nurses to become advocates and changemakers,” she said.
She described her profession as a true calling. “The message I have for others who are considering nursing as a career is that it is a true calling,” she said. “It comes with the responsibility of being there for people when they are possibly at one of the lowest points of their lives. It requires true passion.”
Source: Khaleej Times