Delhi High Court To Centre: Frame Guidelines On Living Organ Or Tissue Donations By Minors

The Delhi High Court in the case observed and has directed the Union Government to frame guidelines for reference of the appropriate authority and the State Governments while considering an application filed for living organ or tissue donations by minors.
The bench headed by Justice Subramonium Prasad in the case observed and has stated that the guidelines under Rule 5(3)(g) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014, be framed within the period of two months.
It has been stated under Rule 5(3)(g) that living organ or tissue donation by minors shall not be permitted except on exceptional medical grounds which are to be recorded in detail with full justification and with prior approval of the Appropriate Authority and the State Government concerned.
The court in the case observed that in exceptional medical grounds, a minor can be permitted in order to donate live tissues and organs but such exceptional medical grounds have not been laid down which can lead to arbitrariness in the grant of permission for such donations.
Further, the court stated that the guidelines have been laid down wherein it indicates the nature of exceptional medical grounds which can be adopted throughout the country by the appropriate authority and the State Governments.
The court directed the Respondent No.1 to frame the guidelines as stated under Rule 5(3)(g) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014 for the guidance of the appropriate authority and the State Governments while considering an application with regards to the permitting tissue donations by minors. The bench of Justice Prasad in the case was dealing with the petition moved by a 17-year-old girl for direction to the Central Government to grant necessary permission to donate a part of her liver to her ailing father.
It has also been stated in the Medical report of AIMS that the girl was healthy and could donate a part of her liver to her father within the criteria prescribed.
Further, the court stated that the person of her age undergoes partial hepatic resection which being similar to a donation procedure with acceptable risk.
The court stated that in view of the Report given by the Medical Board, AIIMS that Petitioner No.1 is physically fit to donate the portion of her liver to her father and quality of her life will not diminish and the court while considering the fact that her father requires an urgent liver transplant as he is in the end stage liver disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis- cirrhosis, NASH, this court is inclined to permit Petitioner No.1 to donate a part of her liver to her father. The court while considering the facts and circumstances of the case observed and has permitted the girl to undergo the procedure in a specialized center like AIIMS where all her detailed workup will be done keeping in view of her safety. The counsel, Advocates Mr. Shantanu Singh, Mr. Ravi Sehgal, Ms. Divya Narayanan and Mr. Anuj Gupta appeared for the petitioner.
The counsel, Advocates Mr. Jaswinder Singh, Ms. Poonam Rohilla, Advocates for R-1; Mr. Siddharth Panda, Advocate for R- 2 and 4; Ms. Mehak Nakra, ASC for GNCTD with Mr. Abhishek Khari, Advocate for R-3; Dr. Harsh Pathak, Mrs. Shaveta Mahajan and Mr. Mohit Choubey represented R-5.