17-year-old from Kerala donates part of her liver to save ailing father

The transplant surgery was held after the Kerala High Court granted Devananda permission in December 2022 to donate a portion of her liver to her ailing father.

A seventeen-year-old girl donated a portion of her liver to save her ailing father, who was suffering from chronic liver disease with hepatocellular cancer.

The transplant surgery was conducted at Rajagiri Hospital near Aluva here on February 9. A student of Plus Two at the Sacred Heart Convent School in Thrissur, Devananda is returning to normal life amidst the joy of sharing a part of her liver to save her forty-eight-year-old father Pratheesh, a resident of Kolazhi in Thirssur.

The transplant surgery was held after the Kerala High Court granted her permission in December 2022 to donate a portion of her liver to her ailing father. Devananda had approached the court after an expert committee constituted by the Appropriate Authority under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 stated that she cannot be exempted from the bar imposed by the Act and Rules on organ donation by minors.

Justice V. G. Arun, who considered her plea, had asked the committee to reconsider its decision after another team of experts gave a recommendation in her favour. The judge had praised Devananda for her fight to save her father’s life.

The condition of Pratheesh, who was running a café in Thrissur, had turned worse after he was diagnosed with liver disease along with cancerous lesion in the liver. The family’s search for a matching donor had turned futile, prompting Devananda to come forward to share a portion of her liver to her father. She had made drastic changes in her diet and had joined a local gym for regular exercises to ensure her liver was in the best condition for donation, according to a communication issued by the hospital authorities.

The surgery was conducted by a team of doctors led by Dr. Ramachandran Narayanamenon, Chief of Multi-Organ Transplant Services. In appreciation of her valiant efforts, the management had waived off her medical expenses, it said.