Transplanted lives: Organ donation in Kerala gains traction Premium

Explore the growing trend of organ donation in Kerala through inspiring stories of donors and recipients overcoming challenges and misconceptions.

Turning 18 can mean different things for different people.

For P. P. Devananda, a Plus Two student from Thrissur, it meant being old enough to donate her liver to P.G. Pratheesh, her father, who was battling liver cirrhosis and in urgent need of a transplant. But time wasn’t in her favour and she couldn’t wait until she turned 18, as her father’s condition was worsening. The family’s attempt to get the organ from one of their relatives failed as the proposed donor backed out citing some personal reasons.

It was around this time that Devananda began to pursue the idea of donating her liver? “Initially, everyone was opposed to the idea. They said it could cause severe pain. But I was determined to do it to save my father as time was running out for him,” she remembers.

She moved the Kerala High Court seeking permission for donating the organ as law forbids minors from donating organs. Eventually, she secured a favourable order from the court. And on February 9, 2023, two months before she turned 18, Devananda donated her liver to her father, thus becoming probably the first minor to do so. Now 21, Devananda says she just did what any daughter would do.

“We had to save him somehow. The surgery had to be carried out immediately and there was no time,” recalls Devananda.

Pratheesh says that the family always dissuaded her. “I never knew that she went to the court to get the order. She kept all those from me. I had told her not to think about donating; she was too young,” says Pratheesh.