Delhi High Court Approves Kidney Donation By Distant Kin to Ailing Family Member

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Delhi High Court Approves Kidney Donation By Distant Kin to Ailing Family Member
Delhi High Court Approves Kidney Donation By Distant Kin to Ailing Family Member

The Delhi High Court has given permission to a 58-year-old doctor suffering from kidney failure to take the organ from a distantly related family member.

Dr Jasjit Singh was unable to receive the organ for a transplant from his immediate family for a variety of reasons.

The authorities had earlier blocked the donation of a kidney by Singh’s maternal uncle’s daughter-in-law on suspicion that some sort of financial transaction was involved.

High Court Justice Vibhu Bhakru, however, permitted the kidney donation to proceed after finding out that no financial transaction was present.

Judge Discussed Risks With Donor

The judge interacted with the donor in chambers without the presence of counsel of either party. The donor was informed of all the risks involves in donating a kidney as well as of undertaking an invasive surgery.

The donor said that she wanted to donate the organ due to the long standing relations with Singh.

The court noted in its order that the donor was fully aware of the risks in undergoing the surgery but was still firm on donating her kidney, adding that the donor had denied any sort financial dealings.

Singh had undergone a transplant operation in 2015 after both his kidneys failed earlier that year. At that point in time, his wife had donated her organ. However the organ transplant failed due to  an infection by the BK virus.

His maternal uncle’s daughter-in-law then decided to donate her organ.  The request was not approved the authorities under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue Act, 1994.

No Monetary Consideration As Family Well-Off

The court has held that there were no possibility of a financial transaction being involved, after establishing that the donor’s husband was not facing any sort of economic crisis and the family was well-off.

The court noted that there was no presence of “any monetary need” that would require the donor to agree to a transaction that required her to donate her kidney for monetary reasons.

The court has directed the Authorisation Committee to reconsider Singh’s application for approving the kidney transplantation.

 

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