Kerala High Court’s intervention helped speed up transplant process

It was the intervention of the Kerala High Court that eventually helped Nepalese citizen Durga Kami get priority in receiving a donor heart.

The Single Bench of Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen on December 11 issued an order directing that Ms. Kami’s priority application be considered by the government and the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization as soon as possible.

According to Rule 31(4) (e) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue Rules, 2014, the order of allocation of organs is as follows: State list, regional list, national list, Persons of Indian Origin and foreigners. In a writ filed before the Kerala High Court, it was argued that Ms. Kami was at risk of sudden cardiac death and required a heart transplant at the earliest. She also lost her sister to the same disease.

Suffering from a rare and serious heart condition called cardiac sarcoidosis, Ms Kami was temporarily settled in Kochi for her treatment and was awaiting a donor heart. His name was added to the K-SOTTO heart transplant list on February 22, 2025.