Maternity need not be proved through DNA test before donating kidney to child: Madras High Court

A woman wanting to donate her kidney to her son need not prove maternity by undergoing a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test. It is sufficient to submit documents such as birth certificate, Aadhaar card, and Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, the Madras High Court has held. Justice G.R. Swaminathan stated so, while disposing of a joint writ petition filed by 44-year-old Rita Chaurasiya and her 25-year-old son Rohit Kumar Chaurasia of Howrah in West Bengal. They had intended to undergo the renal transplantation surgery at Apollo Speciality Hospitals in Chennai. However, the authorisation committee constituted by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act of 1994, on April 17, 2026, withheld the approval on the ground that the relationship between the donor and the donee had to be established. Petitioners’ argument Assailing the order withholding approval, the petitioners’ counsel Abhinav Parthasarathy said, the 25-year-old youngster was suffering from chronic kidney disease, which was now at the end stage, necessitating a renal transplantation, and his mother had come forward to donate her kidney. She was apprised of the risks involved in the surgical procedure as well as about the post-operative complications that might arise. It was only after being well aware of the risks that she had sworn an affidavit agreeing to undergo the transplant surgery out of her own free will and consent. Apart from the medical records, including the psychiatric fitness report with respect to the donor and donee, the petitioners had submitted the donor’s birth certificate, their Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and family photographs in order to prove the relationship between them and the absence of any monetary consideration. Yet, the authorisation committee had withheld consent for the transplantation by raising doubts over their relationship, the counsel complained. Finding force in his submissions, Justice Swaminathan said, the documents submitted by the petitioners were more than sufficient to establish their relationship. “Applying the principle of preponderance of probabilities, I am satisfied that the second petitioner is none other than the biological son of the first petitioner. Therefore, the first petitioner should not be called upon to undergo DNA test to prove maternity,” the judge wrote. He set aside the order passed by the authorisation committee on April 17, 2026, withholding consent for the renal transplantation, and directed it to grant permission for the transplantation within a week.