West Bengal

IIE DIGITAL: In a significant ruling on organ donation, the Calcutta High Court has held that a kidney donation by a person who is not a close relative cannot be rejected merely because documentary proof of the relationship is unavailable.

Justice Krishna Rao on Thursday set aside the decision of the Authorisation Committee, which had refused permission for a woman to donate one of her kidneys to a patient on the ground that the donor and recipient could not establish their relationship through official documents.

The case was filed by Sunita Kharar, whose husband, Chintu Kharar, is suffering from end-stage kidney failure. With no close family member willing to donate an organ, Rupa Saha, the wife of the patient's former driver, volunteered to donate her kidney to save his life.

Rupa had submitted an affidavit stating that her decision was entirely voluntary and not influenced by any financial consideration. However, the Authorisation Committee declined approval, arguing that there was insufficient documentary evidence to establish the nature of the relationship between the two families.

During the hearing, the court examined Rupa's recorded statement, in which she explained that her husband had worked as the patient's driver from 2014-15, leading to a long-standing relationship between the two families. She said they regularly visited each other's homes and had shared family occasions over the years.

The High Court observed that genuine friendships and long-standing personal relationships cannot always be supported by formal documents. It stressed that the committee's primary responsibility is to verify whether an organ donation is voluntary and free from any commercial transaction—not to reject it solely because the donor is not a blood relative.

The court also noted Rupa's statement that she was inspired by the teachings of spiritual leader Premanand Maharaj and viewed organ donation as a humanitarian duty to save a life.

Setting aside the committee's earlier order, Justice Rao directed it to reconsider the application and take a fresh decision within one week in accordance with the law.