KOCHI: Organ donation cannot be denied only for the reason that the donor is poor, the high court said on Thursday. Being poor is not a sin, the court said. Considering a petition challenging Thrissur district-level authorization committee’s decision, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan said there is no rule that specifies that a poor person cannot donate his organs.
Not having money is not a crime and the district-level committee only needs to enquire whether a financial transaction had occurred between the donor and the recipient, the court said.
A woman named Saraswathi had come forward to donate her kidney after seeing news reports about Reeja of Kondotty, who is under treatment at a hospital in Thrissur and is in need of renal transplantation. It was after noticing that Reeja has to take care of her younger child, who is differently-abled, that Saraswathi decided to donate one of her kidneys.
However, the district-level authorization committee for organ transplantation denied Saraswathi’s request, citing that she is poor. Following this, a joint petition was filed before the HC by Saraswathi and Reeja challenging the committee’s decision.
In the judgment, the court said, “There is no rule that poor people can’t donate organs. Being poor is not a sin. The people with big hearts are there in plenty in our country and they can save them. That is how we can reduce the difference between haves and have-nots.”
Setting aside the committee’s order, the court directed for a reconsideration of the matter.
