Parents refuse to donate kidney to dying daughter because 'she is a girl'

Kanchan Kumari's parents have decided to bring her home from the hospital as they do not have any financial means to support her treatment or donate their own kidneys.

A 16-year-old girl from India is battling for her life after her parents refused to donate a kidney to her because "she's a girl".

Kanchan Kumari, 16, fell ill two months ago and was rushed to hospital after she complained of intense pain in her midriff and back.

Doctors revealed she has kidney failure and needs a kidney transplant in order to boost her chances of survival.

"She fell ill around two months ago and was undergoing treatment at Sheikhpura and Biharsharif," her grandfather Baleshwar Yadav told Times of India.

"The doctors said both her kidneys had stopped functioning and she urgently required a transplant. Besides the kidney, surgery will cost $100,000 but that there is no guarantee of survival."

Despite not being able to raise funds, her parents have refused to donate their kidneys because she's a girl.

"Who will donate their kidneys? She is a girl," her father Ramashray Yadav replied on being asked by a local newsman. Her mother too showed no interest in her case.

However, the 16-year-old's grandfather has defended the actions of her father, saying the removal her father's kidney could impact his ability to work.

"If her father gives his kidney to her then he will not be able to carry out his work with one kidney and our survival would be at stake as he is a daily wager and the only breadwinner of the family," the grandfather said.

While the family hasn't been able to find a donor and cannot afford the price of surgery, they have not yet approached the government for help despite the Chief Minister of the Relief Fund previously helping patients in similar needs.

Kumari's parents have since returned the 16-year-old home to care for her themselves.

Sheikhpura District Magistrate Inayat Khan told the Times of India that she would speak to concerned authorities to find a swift solution to the problem.

However, data shows that very few women in Bihar have received kidneys from their relatives in cases of emergency.