Disparity in financial position between donor and recipient cannot alone imply a commercial transaction; motivations must be established based on affection and attachment.

JUDGMENT

Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)--This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

2. The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner under Article 226 being aggrieved by the conduct of the Respondents in not processing her application for kidney transplant. By way of the present petition, the Petitioner/Recipient (hereinafter `Recipient') seeks expeditious processing and disposal of her application for kidney transplant from the Donor, Mrs. Mani who is her Maternal Aunt/Maasi (hereinafter `Donor').

3. The background facts of the case are that the Recipient is an advocate who has graduated from Amity Law School, New Delhi in the year 2019. She is also enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi from 2019. The case of the Recipient is that in March, 2021 she experienced facial puffiness, poor appetite and galactorrhoea due to which she consulted with Dr. Sandeep Mahajan in the Nephrology Department at AIIMS Hospital, New Delhi. Initially, she was prescribed oral medication for her medical condition which she continued to take till December, 2021. However, her health started to deteriorate in January, 2022 due to which she had to be admitted in Max Hospital, Saket-Respondent No.3 on 25th January, 2022. Upon further tests being conducted, the Recipient was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease stage 5/End Stage Renal Disease. Since then, the Recipient was required to undergo dialysis twice a week. From March-April, 2022, she was advised to undergo `K-free' dialysis to ensure that the potassium and creatinine levels in her body remain under control. At that point, she was advised to undergo a kidney transplant. Currently she is on dialysis thrice a week.

4. She and her family, thereafter, explored the possibility of finding a donor from a `near relative' to donate a kidney but it was not possible as all her near relatives were either unfit or unwilling to donate. However, her Maternal Aunt/Maasi (hereinafter `Maasi/Donor') purely on love and affection basis, agreed to donate one of her kidneys to the Recipient. In July, 2022, the Donor underwent tests for donating her kidney and was cleared for surgery by Max Hospital, Saket for transplant. An application dated 23rd September, 2022 in the requisite form was filed by the Recipient for kidney transplant. The following documents were attached to the application:

i. DNA reports confirming the relationship between the Recipient with her mother & the Recipient's mother with the Donor.

ii. The details of the Petitioner's near relatives as specified under the Act and their reason not to donate.

iii. Family tree of the Petitioner's family.

iv. Affidavit of the Donor.

v. Affidavit of the Petitioner's maternal grandmother/Donor's mother giving a `NOC'.

vi. Form 3 and Form 11 as per Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rule, 2014.

5. The said application was submitted to the concerned Authorisation Committee in Max Hospital, Saket-Respondent No.2. However, the Recipient did not receive any decision in writing from Respondent No.2. As per the Recipient, when enquiries were made, it was intimated by the Hospital via phone call that the application could not be processed due to lack of NOC from the husband of the Donor. According to the Petitioner, the Donor has been estranged from her husband for several years and she has been living separately for the last 20 years. Thus, according to the Recipient, her application deserves to be considered on merits without the NOC from her husband. It is the case of the Recipient that her health is deteriorating constantly and she is currently stated to be undergoing dialysis at least thrice a week. The prayers in the writ