A committee of the Maharashtra government has denied a 16-year-old girl the permission to donate a part of her liver to her ailing father, saying it was not sure if she had consented to the risky procedure out of "free will." The girl, through her mother, had moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the state government to process her application for permission to donate a part of the liver speedily.
While rejecting the application, the state authorisation committee headed by the director of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) said,
“The committee cannot rule out the existence of emotional pressure and cannot confirm that the consent given by the minor daughter is out of free will.'' The girl's father suffers from `liver cirrhosis decompensated', as per her petition.
The high court had last week directed the state government to take decision on her application and inform accordingly.
On Wednesday, the girl's lawyer Tapan Thatte presented before a vacation bench of Justices AK Menon and NR Borkar the authorisation committee's report rejecting the application.
The report said that the recipient (the girl's father) was a chronic alcoholic, which was the likely cause of hepatic failure, and there was no documentary proof of his rehabilitation.
"The fact that the patient has hepatic failure due to alcohol has not been brought forward. The donor and her mother seem unaware of the risks and complications of the surgery to the donor and recipient," it said.
The committee further noted that the girl is the only child of her parents.
The high court allowed the girl to amend her plea to challenge the committee's report, and adjourned the hearing to Friday (May 13).
As per the plea, the petitioner's father was advised to undergo liver transplant in March. Except the girl, no other close relative was found medically suitable as a donor, it said.
But as she is a minor, she can not donate liver to her father unless the committee set up under the Organ Transplantation Act approves it, the petition said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
AR Rahman, Wife Saira Announce Separation After 29 Years Of Marriage Ukraine Hits Russia With Long-Range US Missile After Biden's Approval "Exposed": BJP Alleges Bitcoin Scam In Maharashtra Poll, Supriya Sule Reacts Key Seats To Watch In Jharkhand Assembly Elections Netanyahu Makes Rare Gaza Visit, Says "Hamas Will Never Rule Again" Trump Names Howard Lutnick As Commerce Secretary In Key Transition Pick Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.