Using Organs/body parts

[AnGaaR]

Salamoona

Imagine you are living in America/europe or anywhere in the world.
In an accident you lose ur eye,kidney or you need Blood.

Can we use blood or body parts of any human being who is not a muslim but jew,christian or hindu?

[IamDZJ]

i was thinking about this in the c-train just the other day on my way to work. can we?
is any one thinking of donating their body organs after they have passed away?

[Roshina]

Can we use blood or body parts of any human being who is not a muslim but jew,christian or hindu?

Why do you suppose the answer could be a "no"? What could possibly be wrong with using the heart or of a non-Muslim when you desperately need one for survival? Life is more important than the religion of the "organs" of the person who is likely to donate it to you.

And I've heard different views on whether we can give/donate blood or not, but scholars ultimately agree that when your life depends on it, yes, you may accept blood from a non-Muslim. And when your blood can help save another person's life, then, yes, you may donate your blood as well to a non-Muslim.

Personally, I'd find it selfish for anyone who would have enough blood to donate but wouldn't just because the person who needs it happens to be a non-Muslim.

[Alia]

years ago i was in hospital and there i needed blood
and think it doesn´t matter which blood it is because when you wanna live ,
there shouldn´t be jewish cristian and muslim blood :D all the same i think :D

[Mujib]

The majority of the Indo/Pak scholars are of the view that organ transplant is not permissible, while, the Arab scholars and some scholars of the Indian subcontinent give its permission under certain conditions, (details of these conditions will be mentioned further along). No body has given a general unconditional permission for the transplantation of organs.

Full answer: Is organ donation permissible?

There are a few other answers related to this at SunniPath.com which you can find by searching under "organ" in the Answers page.

[Son of Mountains]

My Order of giving blood:
Close relative-Pashtun-Muslim-All humans

[inqilab]

Salamoona

Imagine you are living in America/europe or anywhere in the world.
In an accident you lose ur eye,kidney or you need Blood.

Can we use blood or body parts of any human being who is not a muslim but jew,christian or hindu?

ws

QOI

In terms of Islamic Law Principles As for whether organ transplantation is permissible or not according to Islamic law, it is obvious that there cannot be any clear statement on this issue, which has emerged recently, in general principles and Islamic jurisprudence books. Although the Quran and sunnah pass detailed judgment on some issues which are considered necessary, they generally find it adequate to state some principles and criteria valid for problems which can emerge in every century and every age, instead of detailing each issue related to law. This is the natural result of the fact that the Quran and sunnah are resources and criteria for Muslims until the Doomsday. Classical Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) books solved the problems of their time, guided Muslims in their daily lives and helped them under the light of the Quran and sunnah. According to this, it is possible to comprehend the judgment of organ transplantation in our time by considering how Islamic jurisprudents and axioms react to similar events.



Obligations make harams halal
It is stated in the Quran (al-Baqara 2:173, al-Maidah 5:3, al-An’am 6:119, 145) and hadiths (Musned, V, 96, 218; Abu Dawud, “At’ima”, 36) that in case of starvation and obligation which threatens human life, harams become permissible and not sinful. Although Islam cares for the dead, it cares more for human beings and life, and includes protecting life in five basic aims of religion.



Islamic jurisprudents have stated that in case of suffering from starvation which threatens one’s life, it is permissible for him to eat dead person’s meat, to utilize haram and unclean things for treatment and medication including parts of human body such as bones, teeth and blood, to cut off dead mother’s womb in order to save baby and cut off a dead person’s stomach in order to take a precious material such as jewelry, which was swollen. This fatwa of Islamic jurisprudents and the likes shed light upon organ transplantation in our day. However, there are also jurisprudents who do not agree with such solutions in such situations.



This issue is compatible with the general rules of “Obligations make objectionable things halal” and “What is severely harmful is overcome by what is lightly harmful.” Moreover, it is also compatible with the view “the less bad one of two bad things is preferred” because it is a matter of life and death.



Organ transplantation from a dead body
Contemporary Islamic scholars and fatwa institutions have found taking an organ from a dead body and transplanting it on a patient permissible depending on various reasons. Similarly, in our country, Presidency of Religious Affairs, Religious Affairs High Commission declared fatwa giving permission to organ transplantation from a dead body to a living person under some conditions, with their ordinance dated 03.03.1980 and numbered 396/13, in addition to their previous ordinances. Moreover, Kuwait’s Fatwa Commission of the Presidency of Charity Foundations and Religious Affairs (ordinance dated 24. 12. 1979, numbered 132/79 and ordinance dated 14.09.1981, numbered 87/81), Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) Academy of Saudi Arabia which operates under World Union of Islam, al-Azhar Fatwa Commission and Islamic Jurisprudence Academy associated with The Organization of Islamic Conference in Egypt (ordinance dated 11.02.1988 and numbered 4/1) have adopted the same view and permitted organ transplantation from a dead body to a living person under some specific conditions. The majority of contemporary Islamic scholars have personally declared fatwa in the same way.



The commissions and individuals mentioned above state that the following conditions are necessary for organ transplantation from a dead body to a living person to be permissible:
1. Organ transplantation must be vitally necessary.
2. Experts on the field must have a strong belief that the patient will recover with this treatment.
3. The dead person must have permitted organ donation before he died or if not, his inheritors must permit organ donation.
4. Death must be confirmed to have occurred by both medical science and law.
5. The organ must not be given in return for a payment or personal interest.
6. The receiver must permit organ transplantation from a dead body.
The commissions and scholars in question usually put forward axioms (deduced from the Quran and hadiths), which permit to perform haram things and use unclean or haram things for treatment in case of obligation, and jurisprudential rules and opinions depending on them as evidence to their fatwa on organ transplantation from a dead body. Moreover, they put forward the permission of eating a dead person’s flesh, applying treatment with camel’s urine, using silk and gold, cutting off dead woman’s womb in order to save infant, attaching a dead person’s bone or teeth to a living person’s body, and cutting off a living woman’s womb to take out dead infant so that the woman could live as examples and they base their fatwa on reasons of those permissions.



However, some contemporary scholars who do not find organ transplantation from a dead body permissible base their opinions on the hadith “Breaking a dead person’s bone is like breaking his bone alive” (Abu Dawud, the Dead, 60; al-Muwatta, the Dead, 45) and the belief of organs’ testimony and physical resurrection and the principle which say it is impermissible to change naturalness of creation. However, it is obvious that those opinions and their reasons are weaker compared to Islam’s principles and aims mentioned above.



Organ transplantation from a living person to another living person
As for organ transplantation from a living person to another living person, some contemporary scholars and fatwa commissions found it permissible under some conditions. Kuwait’s Fatwa Commission of the Presidency of Charity Foundations and Religious Affairs (ordinance dated 24. 12. 1979, numbered 132/79 and ordinance dated 14.09.1981, numbered 87/81), Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) Academy of Saudi Arabia which operates under World Union of Islam (ordinance dated January 1928 in Mecca), and Islamic Jurisprudence Academy associated with The Organization of Islamic Conference in Egypt (ordinance dated 11.02.1988 and numbered 4/1) have found organ transplantation from a living person to another living person permissible under some conditions. These conditions are listed as follows:
1. There must be an obligation.
2. The donor must permit it.
3. Organ donation must not harm the donor’s health and it must be proved by medical report.
4. Experts on the subject must have a strong belief that the operation and treatment will be successful.
5. Medical and technical conditions must be adequate.
6. Organ donation must not be priced and must not involve any personal interest.



This fatwa is religiously based on the proofs mentioned above, especially on the verse “if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people” (al-Maidah, 5:32) and the verse “Help ye one another in righteousness and piety” (al-Maidah, 5:2), and hadiths which encourage helping, charity, self-sacrifice, and preventing harmful things and paving the way to useful and beneficial things.



The number of the contemporary Islamic scholars who do not find organ transplantation from a living person to another living person permissible is a bit more than the ones who do not find organ transplantation from a dead body permissible. Those who adopt this view base their opinions on the fact that one is not the real owner of his organs and thus cannot use them as they wish, that human beings are respected and precious beings which should not be touched, that organ transplantation alters natural creation and that this means removing what is harmful via another harmful thing, which is dangerous for both parties.


However, it is obvious that not every organ and tissue taken from a living person yields the same results and does not result in the same vital danger, the same health problems or physical abnormalities. As long as it does not risk the donor or damages his appearance and as long as it is a method of treatment to which there is no alternatives, it is more appropriate for Islamic principles and religious judgments to base our attitude on medical data.


As for organ donation, it must be performed with the supervision and control of a doctor who has got a command in this field and who has got strong faith. Then, the Quranic verses “Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves” (an-Nisa, 4:29) and “make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction” (al-Baqarah 2:195) must be taken into consideration. And it should be kept in mind that organ transplantation must not harm donor, donor must not be forced into it and must not be deceived for the operation.



These criteria are also valid for blood donation.



Organ transplantation within one’s own body
Organ or tissue transplantation within one’s own body has not caused significant hesitations. Islamic Jurisprudence Academy associated with The Organization of Islamic Conference stated in their ordinance dated 11.02.1988 and numbered 4/1 that this kind of medical operation is permissible on condition that its benefits will be more than its harms, and it should be done with the purpose of recovering a defect or illness which causes the patient any biological or psychological disturbances. Besides, in the same ordinance, it was stated that organ transplantation from a living person to another living person is not permissible if it ends one’s life or includes an organ or organs which will result in total loss of a body function.



Importance of human life in Islam
It is known that the religion of Islam, which considers life, death and after-death each a natural occurrence and stage, making them meaningful, attaches importance to healthy, peaceful and safe life for people both socially and individually, orders some precautions which enable this and leaves others to the initiative and efforts of people, suggesting them as principles only.



In this sense, it is reasonable that Muslim communities are hesitant about organ transplantation at the beginning, and even are against it with a social reflex and find some religious reasons for their attitude. This kind of resistance functions as a guarantee preventing traditional communities from dissolving when they encounter an innovation and as a protector of social structure.



However, now that it has been witnessed that organ transplantation is a method of treatment to which there are no alternatives yet and which brings people back to life, these hesitations should be broken, hesitant attitudes should be quit, serious steps should be taken towards it, people should be informed of the issue and institutions to enable it should be founded.



Muslims, who are followers of a religion which deems human life very important, are supposed to lead the world and set an example for this issue.



Organ Trade
Allah the Glorious states that human beings are very honorable beings in the Quran: “We have honored the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favors, above a great part of our creation.” (al-Isra, 17:70).



The fact that humankind is honored by Allah can also be deduced from the fact that it is impermissible to enslave a free person and sell him as a slave (Ibn Mitfah, Sharhu’l-Azhar 3/30; Ibn Hazm, al-Muhalla 9/17; al-Huliyy, Sharaiul Islam 2/16).



Ibn Qudamah says the following on the issue: “We do not know that anyone opposed to this judgment.” (Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, IV, 302).



This judgment is also fixed by hadiths. In a hadith which Imam Bukhari and others narrated from Abu Huraira, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) says:



“Allah the Glorious said: There are three people, to whom I will be enemy on the Doomsday: 1- One who swears for something on My name and then does not keep it. 2- One who sells a free person as a slave and then spends money earned from it. 3- One who hires someone and then does not pay him although he has completed the work.” (Ibn Hajar, Fathu’l Bari, IV, 417; al-Ayni, Umdatul-Qari, XII, IV).



Just like it is impermissible to sell a human being, it is also impermissible to sell a part of hi, that is, an organ of his, because this trade includes insult to human beings and their organs and degrading. Hanafi jurisprudents support this view. They say, basing their opinion on the hadith narrated from Abu Huraira written above, “If selling and buying a free person is impermissible, it is also impermissible to sell a part of his; because the judgment about his parts is the same as the judgment about him.” (Kamalu’d-Din, Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahid, Sharhu Fathu’l-Qadr, VI, 63). Judging by this, it is also considered haram to benefit from parts of a human being in other ways. Parts such as hair and nails cannot be benefited from and they are buried. (an-Nawawi, Sharhu Muslim, XIV, 103). This is because the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “May Allah curse the ones who add (and have it added) hair to hair, who have themselves tattooed and those who tattoo.” (al-Tirmidhi, Clothing, 25).


However, if there is a vital danger for one if organ transplantation is not performed, it is permissible for the buyer to buy it. The sin of this trade is on the seller. (Muhammad Wafa, Bayul-Ayanil-Muharrama, p. 110-113).



Conclusion:
We can list the opinions of scholars who find organ transplantation permissible in case of obligation as follows:
1- They found it permissible judging from the verse “if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people” (al-Maidah, 5:32).
2- They took into consideration the fact that Islam is a religion of easiness.
3- They concluded that it is permissible based on this reasoning: “If blood transfusion is considered permissible today, organ transplantation must also be permissible – on condition that it is performed in accordance with the human dignity.
4- If the donor cannot stay alive after the organ donation, it is definitely impermissible, because it is not permissible to end one’s life while trying to save that of another’s.
5- A living person’s one kidney and one eye, blood and teeth can be donated with the permission of the donor.
6- Before the organ transplantation is performed, experts on the subject must decide that the patient will recover with this treatment.
7- If the organ is to be taken from a dead person, the dead person, before he died, or his inheritors must agree on the donation.
8- There must be a strong belief that the organ donation will not harm the donor’s life and health.
9- Organ transplantation must not be considered as the first alternative, but the last one. When one is obliged, one of two harmful things can be preferred; that is to say; one can prefer living with someone else’s organ to dying. It should be decided by experts in the fields of religion, medical science and psychology.
Another important matter is this: Organ transplantation must be considered the last option. As a matter of fact, according to a hadith of the Prophet (pbuh), a cure will be found for each disease except for aging and death. The thought that an alternative to organ and tissue transplantation will be found within the permitted frame of religious principles should always be kept in mind. Actually, if researches focus on improving transplantation only, of course other alternative methods of treatment cannot be found. For this reason, experts in the field should focus on finding alternative methods of treatment as much as they focus on improving transplantation. Otherwise, while knowledge about organ transplantation, which is considered to be the only option today, increases, the way to find for a more humane alternative will have been closed.
By the way, let us clarify another matter which is questioned quite often:
Someone who donated his eyes and kidneys before he died, of course, will earn thawabs when they are transplanted into a patient, because this will save someone’s life and bring him to life.



Can cardiac valve and the heart of a pig transplanted into human body? Is this kind of transplantation permissible?
Pork and other products made from pig are religiously forbidden. However, in case of an obligation which is a health problem risking one’s life and if there is not another available valve made of something else, it is unobjectionable to use cardiac valve of a pig.
Cardiac valve of a pig is transplanted into human body because pig’s heart is compatible with human heart.



In case of obligation, harams become permissible. In this sense, it is permissible to use a pig’s heart for the treatment of a patient suffering from heart problems. However, if there is not an obligation, it is impermissible.



Can organs of a patient, which is not expected to live anymore, taken, by unplugging the machine?
According to Islam, just like killing one’s own self (suicide) is forbidden, euthanasia – which is demand of ending one’s life, who is suffering severely and for whom there is no hope of recovering – is also forbidden.



However, it is stated that unplugging the machine of a patient, who is living on intensive care devices, is permissible under two conditions. These conditions are as follows:
1- The heart and breathing must totally stop and experts must conclude that the patient cannot be brought back to life.
2- All functions of the brain must totally stop and experts must conclude that it cannot be fixed and the brain has already started to dissolve.
If these conditions are met, intensive unit devices on which the patient lives can be unplugged.

[inqilab]

The Islamic Fiqh Council which convened in the fourth conference in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 18-23 Safar 1408 AH/6-11 February 1988 CE, after studying fiqhi and medical research submitted to the Council concerning the issue of one person benefiting from the body parts of another, living or dead, has determined the following:

In the light of the discussions that highlighted the fact that this issue is something that come about as the result of by scientific and medical advances, with clear positive results that in many cases are accompanied by psychological and social harm if it is practised without shar’i guidelines and controls that protect human dignity and also seek to achieve the aims of sharee’ah which tries to achieve all that is good and in the best interests of individuals and societies and promotes cooperation, compassion and selflessness,

And after highlighting the main points of this topic whereby it may be discussed and categorized, the following was determined:

With regard to definition:

Firstly: What is meant here by ‘organ’ is any part of a person, be it tissues, cells, blood and so on, such as the cornea, whether it is still attached or has been separated.

Secondly: The use or benefit that is under discussion is a benefit that is dictated by necessity in order to keep the beneficiary alive or to keep some essential or basic function of his body working, such as his sight and so on, provided that the beneficiary is one whose life is protected by sharee’ah.

Thirdly: These kinds of benefit or use are divided into three categories:

(i) Transplant of organ from a living person

(ii) Transplant of organ from a dead person

(iii) Transplant from a foetus

(i) The first category, which is transplant of an organ from a living person, includes the following:

- Transplant of an organ from one place in the body to another place in the same body, such as transplanting skin, cartilage, bone, veins, blood and so on.

- Transplant of an organ from the body of a living person to the body of another person.

Organs in this case may be divided into those on which life depends and those on which life does not depend. With regard to those on which life depends, they may singular organs, of which there is only one in the body, or there may be more than one. The former includes organs such as the heart and liver, and the latter includes organs such as the kidneys and lungs.

As for those on which life does not depend, there are some that control basic functions in the body and some that do not. There are some that are renewed automatically, such as blood, and some that are not; there are some that have an effect on offspring and on the genetic makeup and personality of the individual, such as testicles, ovaries and cells of the nervous system, and some that do not have any such effect.

(ii) Transplant of an organ from a dead person

It may be noted that death falls into two categories:

1- Brain death in which all bodily functions cease completely and cannot be brought back medically.

2- Where the heart and breathing cease completely and cannot be brought back medically.

Both of these categories were discussed in the resolution passed by the Council in its third session.

(iii) Transplant from a foetus. Use or benefits in this case fall into three categories:

1- Where the foetus is aborted spontaneously (miscarriage)

2- Where the foetus is aborted deliberately by medical or criminal means

3- Where fertilization is done outside the uterus.

With regard to shar’i rulings:

-1-

It is permissible to transplant an organ from one place in a person’s body to another place in the same body, but attention must be paid to ensuring that the expected benefits outweigh any possible harm; that is subject to the condition that this is done to replace a lost organ or body part, or to restore its regular shape or function, or to correct a fault or remove a deformity that is causing the person psychological or physical harm.

-2-

It is permissible to transplant an organ from the body of one person to another if it is an organ that renews itself automatically, such as blood and skin. But attention must be paid to the condition that the donor be fully qualified and fulfil the shar’i conditions.

-3-

It is permissible to make use of organs that have been taken from the body of another person due to sickness, such as taking the cornea from the eye of a person whose eye has been removed due to sickness.

-4-

It is haraam to transplant an organ on which life depends, such as transplanting the heart from a living person to another person.

-5-

It is haraam to transplant an organ from a living person when its removal may cause an essential function to cease, even though his life does not depend on it, such as taking the corneas of both eyes. But if he will still have partial function after removing it, then the matter is subject to further discussion as we shall see below in section 8.

-6-

It is permissible to transplant an organ from a dead person to a living person whose life or basic essential functions depend on that organ, subject to the condition that permission be given by the deceased before his death, or by his heirs after his death, or by the authorities in charge of the Muslims if the identity of the deceased is unknown or he has no heirs.

-7-

It should be noted that the agreement on the permissibility of organ transplants explained above is subject to the condition that this is not done by selling the organs, because it is not permissible to subject human organs to sale under any circumstances.

As for the beneficiary spending money in order to obtain the required organ where necessary or offering compensation or honouring the donor, this is subject to ijtihaad and further discussion.

-8-

All cases having to do with this topic are subject to further research and discussion, and they should be studied and discussed in a future session in the light of medical data and shar’i rulings. And Allaah knows best.

Quoted from Resolutions of the Islamic Fiqh Council.

[PFgulalai]

Organ donation and transplantation is considered a bioethical as well a religious issue.
The bioethical issues places concerns on things such as the sources of organs (legal or illegal); how they were obtained; using alcholics/drug addicts's organs; paying for the organs etc.

Humanistic perspective:
Since the SOLE REASON of Organ donation and transplantation is to save the LIFE of an individual therefore having organ through a prior and informed consent of the donar should not make a huge difference if the purpose is to SAVE the life of a human which is a foremost duty for all of us. For this reason whether the organ comes from a muslim or non-muslim should not be one's biggest concern.

Islamic perspective:
There is a debate between the Arab scholars and the scholars from rest of the world especially the Indo/Pak.The former allows organ donation and transplantation and the latter has still a number of reservations compared to the former.
There are few basic guiding principles in Islam while dealing with such contemporary issues.
1. Quran places emphasis on the 'sanctity of humans' and therefore to go to any extent to save the life of humans. Considering this, one can conclude that organ donation and tranplantation could be deemed lawful as suggested by Islamic scholars.
2.Another principle is "choice of the lesser of the two evils". For instance, Shariah prohibits the all form of cutting and tampering of the human body since it is a divinely created body and any form of deformation must be avoided. However, if the life of a muslim is in danger (evil one), one has to utlilize all resources to save the life of the muslim.In this case (Human Life VS human body mutilation), the lesser evil is the mutilation of human body to save the life of a muslim, therefore organ donation and transplation will be allowed.
3.Organ-selling is strictly prohibited in Islam.
4.A living donar can donate his organ as long as he/she does not danger his/her life and does not doante it to a non-muslim.

Regarding the specific question of organ acceptance from Non-muslims, Shaykh Ubaid Allah al-As’adi has allowed conditional acceptance of the organs from non-muslims, saying that "All efforts should be be used to avoid accepting organ from non-muslims.If this is not possible, only then the organ from non-muslim should be used".