The Kerala High Court granted permission to a 17-year-old minor girl to donate a portion of her liver to her ailing father for conducting his transplantation surgery, subject to the other requirements of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 and the Rules.

The single bench of Justice VG Arun the other day while passing the order said that it is heartening to note that the unrelenting fight put up by the girl Devananda has finally succeeded.

“I applaud the petitioner’s fight to save her father’s life. Blessed are parents who have children like  Devananda…The writ petition is disposed of permitting the petitioner to donate a portion of her liver for conducting her father’s transplantation surgery, subject to the other requirements of the Act and the Rules,” the court said in its order.

Though the Expert Committee constituted by the Appropriate Authority under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 initially opined that the daughter cannot be exempted from the bar imposed by the Act and Rules on organ donation by minors, Justice VG Arun asked it to reconsider the decision

Following this, the Expert Committee reconsidered the matter and rendered its opinion pursuant to which the Appropriate Authority recommended allowing the petitioner’s plea. Justice Arun recorded his appreciation for its quick response and granted permission to the minor girl to donate a portion of her liver for conducting her father’s transplantation surgery.

The writ petition was moved by a minor girl seeking permission to donate her liver to her father who is suffering from Decompensated Chro Chronic Liver Disease with Hepatocellular Carcinoma, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

From among the near relatives of the patient, only petitioner’s liver was found to be matching. However, the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 and the Rules do not permit organ donation by a minor.

The writ petition was preferred seeking a declaration that the petitioner is entitled to exemption in her age to be a donor as prescribed under Rule 18 of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014 and also sought a direction to the hospital authority to perform their medical obligation as per the provision.