Karnataka High Court Permits Doctor To Donate One Of Her Kidney's As Altruistic Donor Without Compensation
Mustafa Plumber
16 Dec 2025 2:15 PM IST
The Karnataka High Court has permitted a doctor to donate one of her kidneys to a deserving person as an “altruistic donor” without seeking any compensation of any nature.
The 58-year-old doctor had approached the court after her application to the Chairperson of the Hospital Based Authorization Committee, seeking permission for the donation, was rejected. The doctor submitted that she is not making any choice as regards who the donee has to be. The donee could be identified by the hospital concerned, and so long as all the tests and matches are made, the donor has no objection to donating one of her kidneys without compensation.
Further, due to a family history of diabetes, which is more likely to affect her kidney at an early stage, making the petitioner's donation unviable, she had pleaded for granting the relief.
The court directed the respondents (Committee and Manipal Hospital) to verify if there were any other persons who qualified to receive the donation on the part of the petitioner, inasmuch as there were tests that needed to be conducted before such a donation could be made.
The hospital informed the court that five unrelated persons have been identified who could likely match the donor's kidney and receive it without harm, and whose bodies may accept the kidney without rejection. However, further tests were to be carried out to ensure the matching of the kidneys and other parameters/factors. The said process would take approximately three to four weeks to complete.
A single judge, Justice Suraj Govindaraj, said, “This is one of the rare cases where the petitioner has approached this Court to donate her kidney to any deserving person as an 'altruistic donor' without seeking any compensation of any nature.”
It added, “An application having been made to the respondents, the said application was not considered, probably under the misconception that, without the respondents knowing about it, the petitioner and the donee may have entered into any kind of transaction or arrangement.”
On going through the report of the hospital and the submission made by the petitioner in person before the court, the bench said, “The petitioner being a doctor by profession, major in age, and knowing all the aspects relating to the donation of the kidney, I am of the considered opinion that when she has come forward for donating her kidney of her own free will and volition, being aware of all the aspects relating thereto, her request has to be given due credence and accepted and put in action.”
Allowing the petition, the court directed the hospital to carry out such tests on the possible donees as are required to be conducted and ascertain which of the donees would be a suitable donee for receiving the kidney of the petitioner without it being rejected by the body. On such tests being conducted, the same shall be placed before Respondent No.1 (Committee) for approval, which Respondent No.1 shall consider in terms of this direction and pass necessary orders within one week of such submission. The rest of the procedures are to be carried out in terms of the applicable procedure and as mandated by Respondent No.1.
Appearance: Advocate Sripada Venkata Joga Rao for Petitioner
Advocate H Mujtaba for Advocate K R Lakshmana Rao for Respondents.
Citation No: 2025 LiveLaw (Kar) 427
Case Title: ABC AND THE CHAIRPERSON HOSPITAL BASED AUTHORIZATION COMMITTEE & ANR