A 17-year-old boy has moved the apex court seeking permission to donate his liver to his father suffering from acute liver failure. However, the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994 does not permit minors to donate organs or tissues
A minor boy has moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to donate his liver to save his father’s life. News18 (Representational Image)
The Supreme Court will decide today on a 17-year-old boy’s plea to donate his liver to his critically ill father.
After listening to the boy’s plea on Friday, the apex court had issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and listed the next hearing for 12 September.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice PS Narasimha had also directed a ‘responsible officer’ from the Uttar Pradesh health department to remain present on Monday, Bar and Bench reported.
Why has the minor boy approached the top court for organ donation? What does the law say?
Minor boy’s plea
The boy, a resident of Delhi, moved the Supreme Court as his 43-year-old father, suffering from acute liver failure, has been admitted to Noida’s Fortis hospital in Uttar Pradesh.
The counsel appearing for the minor told the apex court that the only way to save the father is through liver donation, Bar and Bench reported.
The family was told two weeks ago that the father is in dire need of an urgent liver transplant, reported India Today.
Their search for a donor, however, proved futile.
The boy’s advocate Bhushan M Oza told India Today that his client was the only one among blood relatives who came up as a match for tbe father.
“They have been trying to get permission from state authorities for liver transplantation from the minor son but did not get a response. They are residents of Delhi and he is admitted to a hospital in Noida, which means they would need permission from Allahabad High Court for the transplant. We moved the Supreme court due to paucity of time and because Allahabad High Court is too far away for the man’s wife and son to travel…,” Oza told India Today.
What does the law say?
The Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994 does not allow minors to donate organs or tissues.
Only the organs or tissues of a deceased minor can be donated.
The Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994 permits only adults to donate organs. News18 (Representational Image)
Notably, as per an amendment in 2011, a minor can be allowed to donate an organ or tissue before death, under certain parameters. “Under Rule 5(2) (g) of the amended act, a minor can be allowed to donate if justifiable reasons can be given,” Oza told India Today.
What did the SC say?
The apex court noted that the law does not allow those under 18 years to donate their organs.
“It is further submitted that the petitioner (son) is willing to donate his liver to his critically ill father. However, in terms of the statute governing the issue, the donor has to be a major,” the bench said, as per Live Law.
The bench also asked the minor to approach the concerned hospital, which can conduct preliminary tests to ascertain whether the boy can be a donor and whether the organ donation in the case would be feasible and permissible.
What is the Transplantation of Human Organs & Tissues Act, 1994?
The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 regulates the “removal, storage and transplantation of human organs and tissues for therapeutic purposes and for the prevention of commercial dealings in human organs and tissues and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
The Delhi High Court had observed in 2020 that there is not a ‘complete prohibition’ on a minor donating an organ or tissue. News18 (Representational Image)
It defines a deceased person as “a person in whom permanent disappearance of all evidence of life occurs, by reason of brain-stem death or in a cardio-pulmonary sense, at any time after live birth has taken place.”
As per the act, a donor refers to any “person, not less than 18 years of age, who voluntarily authorises the removal of any of his human organs for therapeutic purposes.”
Past instances
In April 2020, the Delhi High Court had said there is no “complete prohibition” on a minor donating an organ or tissue.
The observation came after a 17-year-old girl had sought the court’s permission to donate part of her liver to her father, who was suffering from an advanced stage of liver failure, The Hindu reported.
In September 2021, a 17-year-old boy had moved the Delhi High Court seeking permission to donate a part of his liver to his father after Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) had refused to grant permission.
The court had asked Delhi’s health secretary to consider the request of the class 12 student.
With inputs from agencies
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