Organ donation (8)

In the previous blog, we looked at the first of 5 angles to analyse the issue of amputating organs from a live person:

• Is amputation allowed at all
• The one from whom the amputation is done
• The amputated organs
• The one to whom the amputation is done
• The goal of transplantation

Let’s consider the person whose body part is being amputated – it can’t be someone who is not able to discern for him/herself and has to be someone baligh and rational (i.e. not insane). In addition, it could be an animal, or a person who is ghayr muhtaram (lit. not respectable – we can discuss what this means below).

Now consider the situation of someone who is insane or not baligh – this would (as with everything else) require the permission of the guardian.

What about a foetus – e.g. one that miscarried/is aborted? This would not be alive but may be allowed subject to the discussions in the previous blogs and the permission of the parents.

Now let’s consider an animal: if it an animal that is allowed to be eaten, then there is no issue; if it is an internal organ of an animal that is not allowed to be eaten e.g. a pig heart, then again there is no issue. If it is transplanting an external organ after slaughter, there are relevant narrations:

-          muwathaq of Zurara who asked Abu Abdullah (AS) about praying in the hair of fox or squirrels, he took out a book which was claimed to be a dictation of the messenger of Allah (S): praying whilst wearing the hair of anything that is Haram to eat…is fasid and that prayer is not accepted (1)

If it is taken before slaughter, or from an animal that is najis al-ayn e.g. dog or pig, then in addition to that, there in addition to the issue of najasah invalidating prayer, it also may invalidate ghusl and wudhu, especially if it is on the place of washing. This same argument would also be applicable if the organ is taken from a Kafir that is not of the Book (as considered by the majority but not all Shii scholars).

However, some of the great scholars believe that after transplantation, the organ becomes from the body of the person who has received the organ i.e. it becomes tahir (although the author is unsure of this).

As for the person who is not respectable – this refers to the following according to Ayatullah Muhsini:

-          prisoner of war (check – harbi), or an apostate – it is allowed to take the organ from him for a Muslim

-          as for the one who has been executed as a punishment (hadd), it is not allowed, as executing must occur in the way the law has prescriped, and taking an organ is an extra point for which there is no evidence for; and it is a dhulm that is haram

-          as for the one who has been executed as a qisas, then it is as above unless he is happy with it

In the next blog, we will discuss the remaining areas of interest for live transplantation.

(1) Wasa`il from al-Kafi, volume 4, Page 345 in the electronic copy