India: Kerala High Court permits 17-year-old to donate liver to ailing father

On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court permitted a 17-year-old girl to donate a part of her liver to her father, who is suffering from a liver ailment.

The court allowed Devananda PP to give a part of her liver to her father PG Pratheesh, a resident of Kolazhy, in Thrissur district.

In a writ petition filed by Devananda under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, she had sought permission to donate a portion of her liver as she could not find a donor.

The livers of the other family members were not found to be a match with her father's.

The 48-year-old father is battling Decompensated Chronic Liver Disease with Hepatocellular Carcinoma — a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Doctors had prescribed a liver transplant as the only viable option for this chronic disease.

They were unable to find any matching liver from his family except from his daughter. However, the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act does not permit a minor to donate an organ.

Congratulating Devananda, the single bench comprising Justice VG Arun said that her parents were lucky to have a selfless child like her.

"It is heartening to note that the unrelenting fight put up by Devananda has finally succeeded. Court applauds the petitioner's fight to save her father's life," the court stated.

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