Delhi High Court Allows 17-Year-Old to Donate Liver to Save Ailing Father

The Delhi High Court has permitted a 17-year-old boy to donate a portion of his liver to save the life of his father, holding that the case falls within the exceptional circumstances contemplated under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 (THOA) and the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014.

Justice Mini Pushkarna passed the order on a petition filed by the minor through his mother. The boy sought permission under Section 9(1B) of the THOA and Rule 5(3)(g) of the Rules, which generally prohibit organ donation by minors except on exceptional medical grounds with prior approval of the competent authorities.

The petitioner's father is undergoing treatment at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), New Delhi, for advanced chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, portal hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma. According to the hospital, a liver transplant was the only viable lifesaving treatment.

The Court noted that the petitioner, the biological son of the patient, was found to be the only medically suitable donor after all close relatives were evaluated. It also recorded that the Government of NCT of Delhi, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor and the appropriate authority, had granted permission for the proposed transplant.

Observing that the donation was voluntary and free from any commercial motive or coercion, the Court held that denying permission could endanger the father's life. It therefore allowed the transplant, directing ILBS to conduct the procedure in accordance with all legal, ethical and clinical safeguards to ensure the safety of the minor donor.