Kerala High Court’s intervention helped speed up transplant process

It was the intervention by the Kerala High Court that eventually helped Nepali national Durga Kami get priority in receiving a donor heart.

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

According to Rule 31(4) (e) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue Rules, 2014, the sequence of organ allocation 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 heart transplantation at the earliest. She had also lost her elder sister to the same ailment.

Ms. Kami, who was suffering from a rare and serious heart condition called Cardiac sarcoidosis, had taken up temporary residence in Kochi for her treatment, awaiting a donor heart. Her name was added to the K-SOTTO list for heart transplantation on February 22, 2025.