Mumbai: 51-yr-old patient seeks permission for kidney from unrelated donor

“The minister will decide whether her case is fit for an un-related transplant after seeking advice from the department. It is not permitted for commercial gains, so the department will hold a meeting to ensure there is no monetary transaction involved,” said an official from the medical education department.

A native of Chandigarh, the 51-year-old woman is a single parent living in Cumballa Hills in South Mumbai. She is currently in Delhi and is undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. According to her case papers, she has been suffering from renal failure for the last 11 years and requires dialysis at least thrice a week. Her only relative agreed to donate his kidney but was not medically compatible.

About a month ago, 32-year-old Nepali husband of her help agreed to donate his kidney and underwent blood tests to check whether his kidney was compatible. “The patient has been under our care for dialysis. She registered for a live transplant at our hospital with an unrelated donor,” a spokesperson from Jaslok Hospital said.

The woman’s request was rejected by DMER which has laid down stringent guidelines after a kidney racket was busted in July at the Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital. “The donor’s parents are not here for their approval. Also, there were certain disparities in their statements. The committee did not find them closely related and therefore rejected their demand for a kidney transplant,” an official from the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) said.

According to Dr Pravin Shingare, director at DMER, in the past, donors and recipients not biologically related have been permitted to undergo transplants for altruistic reasons or if they establish they are emotionally close. In the past one year, however, no such transplant has come up for approval.

In this case, the DMER observed that the Nepali donor may “not be emotionally attached” or willing to donate out of affection. There was also no marriage certificate to prove he is married to the recipient’s maid. The two claim they are married for over four years now.

According to Shaina N C, whose organisation Giants International was approached for help by the 51-year-old, the latter has two months to live if she does not immediately undergo a kidney transplant. “Our delegation, along with Javed Akhtar met the chief minister to reconsider her case. It is important to save her life,” she said. Last week, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj also underwent a kidney transplant from a donor not related to her. The organisation has cited her example to gain permission for this transplant. According to state health department, in such cases a second appeal is made to additional chief secretary of the medical education department.

“There are also no pictures of the marriage where recipient and donor are together. The recipient did not even attend their wedding. We consider such details before approving a transplant. It is after all a human organ,” a senior DHS official said, adding that the government has become cautious in approving transplants after the kidney racket came to light.