Legal Rights, Issues, and Challenges for Organ Donors in India

In today's ultra-advanced age of medical knowledge, the average human life expectancy has been significantly increased. On the one hand, technology has introduced advanced means of invasive surgery, but it has also been exploited to exploit people. Human organ transplantation is one type of invasive surgery that can help an ailing patient live longer. Only specific organs in the human body can be transplanted, such as the heart, liver, kidney, and pancreas, and only in two scenarios can living people donate their organs for transplantation: the kidney and liver. In India organ transplantation is regulated by Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 1994 and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules 2014. As a matter of fact Indian law criminalizes commercial dealings in human organs and makes any kind of payment punishable. In the given context this paper will analyze how far the rights of an organ donor is protected in India and whether they may be tagged as an offender in case they are receiving any payment in exchange of their organ? The paper also discusses how to move forward in order to create a workable solution that protects both the rights of a dying patient and the rights of organ donors.