The father of a Sikh woman in the state who expressed her desire to donate one of her kidneys to her female Muslim friend, appealed to his daughter on Sunday to “reconsider” her decision taking into account his medical condition and sought the Governor’s intervention.

Manjot Singh Kohli, 23, a social and human rights activist, had recently made her decision public to donate one of her kidneys to her 22-year-old Muslim friend Samreen Akhtar of Rajouri district, but said objections by her family and a hospital in Srinagar were delaying the procedure.

“With folded hands, I am requesting my daughter to abandon the plan to relieve me of the trouble as you are aware of my medical condition and there is nobody to look after me,” Gurdeep Singh Kohli, who has 75 per cent disability and is unable to walk, told reporters at his Udhampur residence.

The activist’s father had already served a notice on the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, opposing his daughter’s decision. He said: “There is no family consent”. Manjot Singh Kohli’s parents met with an accident in 2014, resulting in the death of her mother while her father escaped with serious injuries and underwent a major operation.

“Have mercy on me and come back. You are not doing any good as your own father requires you, who else is here to look after me. I cannot bear this shock,” he said and sought the intervention of Governor Satya Pal Malik to save the life of his daughter.

Gurdeep said his only son was working in New Delhi and he had done everything possible to ensure good education to his children. “I gave her the best education and enrolled her in a school in Himachal Pradesh where Bollywood actresses have studied. When her (Samreen’s) mother is medically fit to donate a kidney, why are they compelling my daughter,” he said.

He said his daughter left about nine months back. She had opened an institute in Jammu and informed him that she was moving to Srinagar for a three-month course. “On November 10, she came along with Samreen and informed me that she wanted to donate her kidney to her friend. I opposed her decision when her friend left,” he said, terming her move as an attempt to “attract attention”.

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He said people were welcoming her decision and sending congratulatory messages but “I know it is for the time being and nobody will look back once she is done. They will take care of her for some time and then… she is young and it is my wish to marry her off. After donating the kidney, nobody is going to marry her”.

Manjot had said “we have been friends for the past four years and I am emotionally attached to her. Also, it is my strong belief in humanity that is motivating me to donate my kidney.” She said Samreen had been involved in social activism with her for the past many years in Jammu.

[Originally posted in Tribune India ]