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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court has directed the Central government to formulate guidelines specifying the exceptional circumstances under which a minor can donate organs.

The directive came as the court granted permission to a 17-year-old girl to donate a portion of her liver to her father, who is suffering from end-stage liver disease.

The bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad, acknowledging Rule 5(3)(g) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014, which permits minors to donate live tissues and organs in exceptional medical circumstances, emphasized the need for clear guidelines on these circumstances.

The court, while allowing the organ donation in the present case, cited a report from AIIMS confirming the petitioner's physical fitness for the donation and the urgent need for her father's liver transplant.

Justice Prasad clarified that the order was issued due to the critical health condition of the petitioner's father and the medical assessment indicating the petitioner's suitability for organ donation.

The petitioner's father, represented by her mother as a guardian, had been diagnosed with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-cirrhosis (NASH), a prolonged liver disease requiring an urgent transplant.

While granting permission for the organ donation, the court observed a lack of clarity in the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014 regarding the "exceptional medical grounds" for minors to donate organs or tissues. The court expressed concerns about potential arbitrariness in granting or rejecting such permissions.

Justice Prasad ordered the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to formulate guidelines within two months, outlining the exceptional medical grounds under which organ donation by minors could be permitted. The court emphasized the need for uniform guidelines to be adopted across the country by appropriate authorities and state governments when considering applications for tissue donations by minors.

"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 guidelines be framed within a period of two months from today," the court said in its order dated January 30.

Case Title: Siya Omar Through Her Mother & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.