Science Series. Organ Donation. Can We Be Donors?

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1 Science Series Organ Donation Can We Be Donors?

2 ORGAN DONATION SETTING THE STAGE : ASK THE RABBI, ORGAN DONATION, AISH.COM Question: What is the Jewish position on organ donation? I have been told, albeit by someone relatively uneducated, that a Jewish body must be "whole and intact" for Jewish burial. But what confuses me is that, since my father had renal failure and was on dialysis, he was on a waiting list for kidney transplant. Is it then alright for a Jew to accept organs but not to donate them? This question has been on my mind for almost 20 years! Also, I would like to register as an organ donor so that if, G- d forbid, I am involved in a fatal accident, I could help someone in the same position as my father. Can something so selfless and caring cause me to lose the mitzvah associated with a Jewish burial? Please explain because if I am ever called upon to save a life, I want to know that I am doing the right thing. RABBI AVRAHAM ZUROFF, QUESTION MARKET VOL. 1, PG. 43 Rhoda B. Kabak from Cincinnati writes: Why aren t we allowed to donate our organs after death? My friends and I are interested in the basis for this. Wouldn t this be considered a mitzvah if it ultimately would save a life? Thank you for this opportunity to learn from home! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ORGAN DONATION? DO YOU THINK THAT EVERYONE SHOULD LIST THEMSELVES AS AN ORGAN DONOR ON THEIR DRIVERS LICENSES? WHY/WHY NOT? Jewish Scholars Program: Organ Donation Page 2

3 ENGAGING THE TEXT: TREATMENT OF A DEAD BODY ARYEH CARMELL, MASTERPLAN, PG. 70 The body is the Divinely designed instrument for carrying out G- d s will on earth; it is a sanctuary. In death, it is a desolate sanctuary, but a sanctuary nevertheless, and must be treated with due reverence No benefit may be derived from a corpse... It is forbidden to mutilate a dead body. However, in certain circumstances transplantation from a corpse may be permissible, e.g. skin from a corpse to save the life of a badly burned patient, kidneys for transplantation into a seriously ill patient, a cornea into a blind person; but a competent halachic authority must first be consulted in each case... Scientific experiments, even if they may at some future time save human lives, do not override the prohibition of mutilation or showing disrespect to the dead. A society which accepts the dehumanization of the dead body in the name of science will come eventually to dehumanize the living human being. (This has already happened). RABBI YAAKOV ASTOR, SOUL SEARCHING, PG. 58 The departing soul is keenly cognizant of any act of abandonment. It may be out of its body, but it is very much present. For this reason, it is a fundamental principle in Jewish law that the living show respect to a dead body. Thus, upon expiration, the eyes and mouth of the deceased must be closed, and the body must be covered and then buried as quickly as possible all along handled with the greatest of dignity. Traditionally, the task of handling the body has been reserved for a highly esteemed and select group of nonprofit volunteers called the Chevrah Kaddisha, or the the holy society. Upon the holy society falls the responsibility of taharah: to thoroughly wash the dead body, to clothe it in funeral shrouds, to make sure that someone is stationed over the body literally every minute until burial in general, to put the family at ease, knowing that the body is being handled with the highest degree of dignity and sanctity. WHY DO YOU THINK THE TORAH CARES SO MUCH ABOUT HOW DEAD BODIES ARE TREATED? DO YOU FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT YOUR BODY? Jewish Scholars Program: Organ Donation Page 3

4 ENGAGING THE TEXT: FOR IMMEDIATE USE RABBI AVRAHAM ZUROFF, QUESTION MARKET, VOL. 1, PG. 43 According to Jewish law, one is forbidden to mutilate a lifeless body, derive any use or benefit from a cadaver, or delay the interment of any part of a corpse. If, however, there were an immediate possibility of saving someone s life, these prohibitions would be overruled, and not only would one be allowed to donate one s organs after death, but it would even be a mitzvah. AARON MOSS, ORGAN DONATION, CHABAD.ORG But when you sign a consent form to have your organs removed, not all of those organs will necessarily be used for an immediate transplant. They may be used for research, or stored away, or even discarded if not needed. Jewish law only allows organ donation if it can be ensured that the organs will indeed be used to save lives. But there is a much more serious concern. To be usable in a transplant, most organs have to be removed while the heart is still beating. But Jewish law maintains that if the heart is still beating, the person is still alive. The moment of death is defined as when the heart stops. So to remove organs from a brain dead patient while the heart is still beating is tantamount to murder. While the medical and legal world has accepted brain death as a new definition of death, the vast majority of experts in Jewish law have not. To tamper with the definition of death is to start on a path that can lead to major ethical problems CHAIM DOVID ZWEIBEL, THE JEWISH OBSERVER, 1991 The controversy over organ donation centers around the critical question of whether halachah recognizes brain death. A person is brain dead when his entire brain, including the brain stem, has irreversibly ceased functioning. Medical science has concluded that the brain stem controls respiratory activity; and that accordingly, if a person s brain stem has irreversibly ceased functioning, he is no longer capable of breathing independently. With the assistance of a respirator, however, his heart can continue beating, if only for a relatively short period of time. WHAT S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN USING ORGANS IMMEDIATELY AND PUTTING IT IN A BANK FOR LATER IF IT WILL EVENTUALLY SAVE A LIFE? Jewish Scholars Program: Organ Donation Page 4

5 ENGAGING THE TEXT: HALACHIC DEATH AARON SOLOVEICHIK, JEWISH BIOETHICS, THE HALACHIC DEFINITION OF DEATH, PG. 322 Death is not a phenomenon which always takes place in a split second. Death is a process which begins the moment spontaneous respiration ceases. The process of death ends when all bodily functions emanating from a controlling center end During this period, a person is in a state of semi- living, not fully alive but not fully dead. Anyone who kills such a person or who hastens his death is, therefore, guilty of murder One must wait half an hour because his brain may still be operative and the patient potentially resuscitable. FRED ROSNER, MOSHE D. TENDLER, PRACTICAL MEDICAL HALACHAH, PG. 55 Cerebral death (flat electroencephalogram) is not an acceptable criterion for death in Jewish law. Total cessation of all brain function as determined by the Harvard criteria and radioisotopic confirmation that the brain stem is not being perfused is absolute evidence that death has occurred. RABBI ALFRED COHEN, JOURNAL OF HALACHA, SALE OR DONATION OF HUMAN ORGANS Rav Ovadia Yosef is lenient and permits it, but insists that there must be a Jewish recipient presently waiting for the organ (choleh lefanenu), rather than extracting it to bank for later use. Moreover, he does not permit the family to make this decision - only the person himself can indicate during his lifetime that he is willing for his organs to be harvested. On the other hand, Dayan Weisz, author of Minchat Yitzchak, does not sanction organs being removed after death, his reasoning being that saving someone s life through organ donation is a mitzvah - but the dead are absolved from performing any mitzvot, and removal of organs is nivul hamet. Rav Waldenberg, author of the Titz Eliezer, also would preclude organ donation after death, even if the person gave permission while still alive. However, he would allow it if there presently is a sick person waiting for that organ, due to the overriding importance of pikuach nefesh DO YOU AGREE WITH THE HALACHIC DEFINITION OF DEATH? WHY/WHY NOT? Jewish Scholars Program: Organ Donation Page 5

6 KNOW HOW TO ANSWER PETER J. SMITH, NEW STUDY QUESTIONS BRAIN- DEATH CRITERION FOR ORGAN DONATION, LIFESITENEWS.COM, SEP. 15, 2006 Recent case- stud[ies] significantly bolster the argument of opponents of the brain- death criterion for organ donation, who fear that severely brain- injured patients are seen more and more as living organ farms than as persons needing care and attention. Hospitals frequently have invoked brain death to justify harvesting organs ever since organ donation and transplantation became a multi- billion dollar industry beginning with the first successful organ transplants and the development of immunosuppressant drugs in the late 1950s. WIKIPEDIA In the overwhelming majority of cases, organ donation is not possible for reasons of recipient safety, match failures, or organ condition. Even in Spain, which has the highest organ donation rate in the world, there are only 35.1 actual donors per million people, and there are hundreds of patients on the waiting list. This rate compares to 24.8 per million in Austria, where families are rarely asked to donate organs, and 22.2 per million in France, which - - like Spain - - has a presumed- consent system. In the United States, the waiting list is quoted to be about 101,217 people long. RABBI SHRAGA SIMMONS, ORGAN DONATION, AISH.COM The Jewish position on organ donation is as complex as the issue of life and death, because it derives directly from the Jewish perspective on the sanctity of life and the role that our physical existence plays in the advancement of our spiritual selves....the bottom line is that each case is different. A myriad of considerations in halacha must be reviewed. So before going ahead with any procedure, consult with a rabbi well- versed in Talmud and Jewish law. It is clearly not as simple as blankly signing an organ donation card. ROLE PLAY Someone approaches you and says, Why in the world wouldn t you want to be an organ donor? Don t you want to save someone s life? Jewish Scholars Program: Organ Donation Page 6