Let man donate kidney; wife's consent not needed: Telangana HC to Apollo Hospital

Justice T Amarnath Goud was dealing with a petition filed by Venkat Naren K and his sister Madhuri, who urged the court to direct the Apollo Hospital authorities to carry out the kidney transplantation, without insisting on the consent of the spouse of the donor

Venkat, a private employee from Ramakrishnapuram in Hyderabad, decided to donate his kidney for his sister who was facing chronic renal failure. They planned kidney transplantation surgery at the private hospital on July 30 this year.

To their surprise, a day ahead of the surgery, they received a communication from the hospital seeking a letter of consent from his wife. The petitioner's brother-in-law contacted the woman through WhatsApp and explained the situation. He sought her consent for the transplant. However, the woman blocked his number and stopped receiving communication, the petitioner claimed.

The patient's brother, who moved the HC, stated that he had differences with his wife and had already filed a petition in Malkajgiri family court for the dissolution of his marriage. He contended there was no requirement of consent from his wife if no commercial elements were involved in the transplant. The receiver was his own sister and came under the definition of 'near relative' as per the kidney transplantation related laws, he stated

The court said the woman who requires a kidney is in the end-stage of chronic renal disease. The court directed the Apollo Hospitals Authorisation Committee of Transplantation of Human Organs to carry out the kidney transplant surgery on Tuesday.