A kidney donor in India and the recipient of the kidney are taking each other to court, each charging the other with violating the contract between them.

The donor says he is still owed 45,000 rupees (£650). The recipient says the donor has already been overpaid.

The donor, a labourer in the southern Indian state of Kerala, saw an advertisement by Manjula Thampatti urgently seeking a kidney. He had two sisters to marry off and was in need of the money.

The transplant operation just over a year ago was successful and Manjula is now in good health. But that has not turned out to be the end of the story.

Pay dispute

The donor now says he is still owed a third of the money due to him but Manjula and her husband claim that the supposedly outstanding sum was fixed under pressure and that not a single rupee is due.

Not only that, they say that after meeting all the medical expenses they do not have any money left.

They have publicly accused the donor of being a greedy blackmailer and they are taking him to court for betrayal of trust. He says he will sue them on the same grounds.

Kidney donation is a lucrative enterprise in India. Last year, police in Delhi arrested 10 people in connection with a kidney donation racket. A private hospital involved in the scam was closed down.