DOES ISLAM ALLOW ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION?

Certain illnesses can cause an organ to stop functioning, making transplantation necessary. Organ transplantation refers to transferring organs (or parts of organs) or tissues (or parts of tissues) to another location in the body or to another person. Today, organs such as the kidney, liver, heart, lungs, and pancreas are commonly transplanted.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "O servants of Allah, seek treatment when you are ill! For Allah, the Exalted, has created a cure for every disease, except for death and old age." (Ahmad)

The Egyptian Fatwa Center, the Fiqh Academy under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Kuwait have all issued fatwas on this matter, stating: "It is permissible to transplant organs from both living and deceased donors. For organ transplantation from a deceased person to be allowed, the following conditions must be met:

1. A qualified specialist must determine that transplantation is the only way to treat the patient; 2. Doctors must be confident that transplantation will help the patient; 3. The donor must have given permission before death for their organs to be used after death; 4. The donor must be declared dead both medically and religiously; 5. The sale of donor organs as commodities is strictly prohibited; 6. The patient must consent to receiving the organ.

For transplantation from a living donor, the following conditions must be met: 1. Qualified doctors must determine that removing the organ will not harm the donor's health; 2. Removing the specified organ must not endanger the donor's life; 3. The organ must not be treated as a commodity, and no profit should be made from it."

The Council of Scholars of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan also issued a similar fatwa on this issue in 2015.

Hasan AMANKUL