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

The Delhi High Court has directed the Union Government to frame guidelines for reference of the appropriate authority and the State Governments while considering an application for living organ or tissue donations by minors.

Justice Subramonium Prasad ordered that the guidelines under Rule 5(3)(g) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014, be framed within two months.

Rule 5(3)(g) states that living organ or tissue donation by minors shall not be permitted except on exceptional medical grounds to be recorded in detail with full justification and with prior approval of the Appropriate Authority and the State Government concerned.

The court observed that in exceptional medical grounds, a minor can be permitted 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.

It said that 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.

“Respondent No.1 is directed to frame the guidelines 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 regarding permitting tissue donations by minors,” the court said.

Justice Prasad was dealing with a plea 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.

The medical report of AIIMS stated that the girl was healthy and could donate a part of her liver to her father within the criteria prescribed.

It further stated that a person of her age undergoes partial hepatic resection similar to a donation procedure with acceptable risk.

“In view of the Report given by the Medical Board, AIIMS that Petitioner No.1 is physically fit to donate a portion of her liver to her father and quality of her life will not diminish and 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 said.

It 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.

Counsel for Petitioners: Mr. Shantanu Singh, Mr. Ravi Sehgal, Ms. Divya Narayanan and Mr. Anuj Gupta, Advocates

Counsel for Respondents: 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, Advocates for R-5

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.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 121