Kerala HC Allows Teenage Girl To Donate Liver To Ailing Father

A minor girl from the Thrissur district in Kerala was given the green light to donate a portion of her liver to save her father's life by the Kerala High Court.

The court allowed the 17-year-old girl's plea seeking exemption in her age to be a donor as prescribed under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014.

Justice V G Arun said in his order that it was "heartening" to note that the "unrelenting fight" put up by the teenage girl has succeeded.

Justice Arun added, "I applaud the petitioner's fight to save her father's life. Blessed are parents who have children like Devananda ".

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Teenage Girl To Donate Liver To Father

The minor's father Pratheesh P G suffers from Decompensated Chronic Liver Disease with Hepatocellular Carcinoma, a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Among the relatives of the patient, only his daughter's liver was found to be a match. The only means to save his life is to replace the damaged liver through transplantation surgery.

Devananda was willing to donate her organ to save her father's life, but under the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, minors are not permitted to donate their organs.

In her plea, Devananda also sought direction to the hospital authority to perform their medical obligations by treating her as an adult if she is medically fit to be a donor.

The court gave the judgement considering a report submitted by a committee constituted by the Kerala State Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO), which was directed by the court to study the case.

After the evaluation, the committee submitted a report allowing Devananda's plea subject to the final order of the court despite initially being reluctant.

Reacting to the judgement, Kerala's Health Minister Veena George also hailed the girl's determination. George said in a statement, "Devananda is becoming a part of history in the organ donation process".