Kerala High Court paves way for organ donation by a friend, chastises authorities for presuming it was a commercial transaction

The authorities must always try to help the man on the death bed rather than find some technicalities or unsupported suspicions to conclude that there is a commercial transaction, the Court said.

The Kerala High Court recently cautioned organ donation committees and the police to refrain from rejecting organ transplant applications on technicalities or unfounded assumptions of the transplant being a commercial transaction. [Biju Mathewaged & Anr. V Deputy Superintendent & Ors.]

Justice PV Kunhikrishanan made the observation while directing a District Authorization Committee for Transportation of Human Organs to allow a renal transplant for a man suffering from advanced chronic kidney disease.

The kidney transplant request was earlier rejected by statutory authorities on suspicions that it was a commercial transaction since the donor and donee were unrelated and did not have any familial links.

The donee and his family, however, asserted that the proposed organ donor was a well-wisher and a close family friend who came forward to donate his kidney out of free will and affection.

The case prompted the Court to remark that if human beings thought more about helping others live a little longer, instead of just living longer, “god and our fellow citizens will bless us.”

“That should be the slogan for encouraging human organ donation,” the Court added.

Criticising the manner in which the organ transplant request was handled by the authorities in this case, the Court further emphasised,

“A man is in the death bed. He is hoping that he will get a life from another person. The Authorization Committee and Police shall always try to help the man in the death bed rather than to find out some technicalities and unsupported suspicions to conclude that there is a commercial transaction or money transaction.”

The Court also noted that organ donation approval committees should not pass orders mechanically, even if a police verification report may be required to rule out any commercial transaction between unrelated organ donors and donees.

The Court added that concerns about the commercialization of organ donation can be reduced by examining whether there were any middlemen in the transaction.

“The concern of commercialization of organ donation can be reduced by removing the direct link between the person who offers to donate and the recipient,” the Court’s judgment stated.

The Court proceeded to allow the organ donee’s writ petition and directed the District Authorization Committee to pass orders to approve the organ transplant request.