Campaigns by two Christian priests have convinced a southern Indian state to review kidney donation guidelines, which currently prohibit donations by non-relatives. Kerala state Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said yesterday that he would press federal authorities for an early nod for voluntary kidney donations. Chandy said he was not aware of the problem until the priests took up the matter. “I’ve directed the principal secretary of health to look into the matter,” he added. Chandy’s comments came in the wake of a hunger strike by Father Santhosh George of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church on July 20. The 39-year-old priest wanted to donate one of his kidneys to a critically ill girl, Jayashree, 17, a Hindu, but the organ transplantation committee denied permission since he was not related to her. The Indian organ transplantation rules bar government hospitals from conducting kidney transplants if the donor has no blood relation to the patient. The federal government formulated the restrictions to prevent illegal trade in human organs. Father George staged the hunger strike in front of the Kerala government headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram to demand “humanitarian consideration” for kidney patients. He said he volunteered to donate his kidney after he came to know about the plight of Jayashree, a kidney patient for the past six years. Medical tests showed his kidney was compatible for donation. Father George, who manages an orphanage in Chennai, capital of neighboring Tamil Nadu state, wants the government to review the “inhuman law” that affects the poor mostly. Earlier, a Catholic priest had approached the state health department with the same demand. Father Davis Chiramel, founder of the Kidney Federation of India, made headlines two years ago by donating one of his kidneys to a Hindu casual laborer. He said Kerala has about 2,000 patients waiting for the medical board’s nod for kidney transplantation. “It takes a lot of time to get permission. Meanwhile, many people die,” he added.
