A transplant patient has been told her brother cannot come to England to act as a potentially life-saving kidney donor.

But Zagala Hussein, 41, is challenging the Home Office's refusal to allow her brother to enter the country.

Yesterday, she won a vital victory when High Court Judge, Mr Justice Richards, expressed his "concern" over the case and opened the way for her to seek a judicial review.

Mrs Hussein has been in the John Radcliffe Hospital since last July, undergoing daily kidney dialysis while waiting for a suitable match. Her brother, Raja Gul Nareez Khan, has offered himself as a donor, and preliminary tests in Pakistan indicate they have similar tissue types.

But on March 1, a Home Office representative in Pakistan refused permission for Mr Khan to come to Britain.

He told Mr Khan at the time: "You have failed to provide any evidence of your brother-in-law's ability to pay for your visit to the UK in order for you to donate a kidney to your sister. "Whilst I sympathise with your sister's illness, I am not satisfied your brother-in-law will be able to maintain and accommodate you in the UK without recourse to public funds."

Clearing the way for a judicial review of the officer's decision, Mr Justice Richards told Home Office counsel Alan MacLean: "I say no more than that it would be right for me to express a degree of concern as to the attitude that seems to have been taken in this case."

He directed that the case should take priority in court lists and be heard early next month as a matter of urgency. Arthur Blake, counsel for Mrs Hussein, of Gibbs Close, High Wycombe, said Mr Khan had no wish to remain in Britain after the transplant and added that he was the "only suitable donor" likely to be found.

Mrs Hussein's solicitor, Dr Liaqat Malik, attacked the Home Office's decision as "scandalous". He said: "I cannot believe that in this day and age such a decision can be made. My client has a life-threatening condition."

Story date: Saturday 13 March

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