Living organ donation by minors: Delhi HC allows teen to donate part of liver, directs for framing of detailed guidelines [Read Judgment]

NEW DELHI: Allowing a plea by a 17 year old girl seeking permission to donate a part of her liver to her father, the Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to frame detailed guidelines in this regard.

A single judge bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad allowed the plea considering that the father required an urgent liver transplant as he was in the end stage of liver disease.

However, the bench opined that detailed guidelines have to be laid down indicating the nature of exceptional medical grounds which can be adopted, throughout the country by the appropriate authority and the State Governments, in such cases.

It therefore directed the Centre to frame guidelines within two months from January 30, under Rule 5(3)(g) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014 (2014 Rules).

The Court also directed the petitioners to undergo the procedure in a specialized centre like AIIMS where the procedure could be undertaken with attention to the minors safety.

Brief facts

The Court was deciding the plea of a teen born on September 5, 2006 who as on date was around seventeen years old.

Her father was admitted to the Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Chennai and was diagnosed with a prolonged, end-stage liver disease, that is non-alcoholic steatohepatitis- cirrhosis (NASH), and thus required an urgent liver transplant.

The daughter was found to be a suitable donor and thus the father made a representation dated June 28, 2023 to the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi seeking permission for liver transplantation of a part of the liver of his minor daughter.

As no response was received from the authorities, the father put down his name on the Cadaveric Donor waiting list of the King George Medical University, Lucknow.

The father-daughter duo also filed a writ petition in this regard, which was subsequently withdrawn. Thus, they approached the present Court by filing the instant writ petition.

The petitioners were represented by Advocates Shantanu Singh, Ravi Sehgal, Divya Narayanan and Anuj Gupta.

The respondents were represented by Advocates Jaswinder Singh, Poonam Rohilla, Siddharth Panda, Advocate; Mehak Nakra, ASC for GNCTD with Abhishek Khari, Dr. Harsh Pathak, Shaveta Mahajan and Mohit Choubey.

Cause Title: Siya Omar through her mother and natural guardian Priyanka Gupta & Anr v Union of India through its Secretary Ministry of Health and Family Welfare & Ors.

[Read Judgment]