The Kerala High Court granted permission to a teenage girl to donate a portion of her liver to her sick father. Devananda, a 17-year-old girl from the Thrissur district of Kerela, filed a writ petition asking to be exempted from the age requirement for living donors as set in the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014.

Her father, Pratheesh P. G. needed a liver transplant due to his decompensated chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. Considering the long waiting list for deceased donor liver, Pratheesh's family opted for a living donor transplant. The only liver that matched him among his close relatives was his daughter, Devananda's. But, Devananda was not allowed to donate as she was only 17 years old.

Considering an expert committee report compiled by the Kerala State Organ Tissue Transplant Organization (K-SOTTO), which had been commissioned by HC to examine Devananda's case, the court gave the judgement in December 2022. The committee based their decision on key facts, that a transplantation was the only available option for Pratheesh and that the donor made a voluntary and informed decision to donate without any external pressure or influence. “The writ petition was disposed of permitting her to donate a portion of her liver for conducting her father's transplantation surgery, subject to the other requirements of the Act and the Rules,” the court said in the order.