New Delhi : The Delhi High Court has held that the Authorisation Committee can permit registered organ donors to participate in swap transplants with anyone to secure compatible organs for their near relatives, and that such exchanges must not be restricted to only two donor-recipient pairs. A bench of justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, in his verdict released on May 30, said that Section 9(3A) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, which allows organ swaps with the committee’s approval, was enacted to address a practical difficulty where a person’s willingness to donate an organ to a near relative cannot be fulfilled due to biological incompatibility, despite no fault on either side. The court held that the provision does not, in any manner, prohibit inter se transplantation involving more than two incompatible donor-recipient pairs. It held that multi-party swap transplantation, being one of the best courses of action for patients facing difficulties in finding a suitable donor, ought not to be restricted only between two pairs. “The said provision is, therefore, a carve-out within the large scheme of the Act, where, subject to compliance with the requirement of non- commerciality, persons are allowed to inter se donate and receive organs and tissues. The said provision does not in any manner whatsoever bar an inter-se transplantation between more than two pairs. The usage of words such as “first donor” and “second donor” in the said provision is merely to illustrate and exemplify the procedure which is to be followed. The said words ought not to be interpreted as confining the scope of the provision to only the second donor and the second pair. Such an interpretation, truly, borders on absurdity,” the court said. “The purpose of Section 9(3A) of the Act is to enhance the possibility of identifying a compatible match from a donor who has a reciprocal organ transplant necessity for his/her close relative. Thus, Section 9(3A) has to be interpreted in a manner that furthers the possibility of matching legally and clinically compatible donors with the recipients.” The court passed the order while hearing a petition filed by four proposed recipients challenging the appellate authority’s April 2026 order. In the said order, the appellate authority upheld the Authorisation Committee’s refusal to allow a four-way swap kidney transplantation between the four donor-recipient pairs.