Islamic ethics and organ transplants

Abstract

There is no unanimous position between Muslim lawyers on the lawfulness of organ transplants in the light of the rules of the Islamic Law (the Sharia). The positions waver between two extremes: on one hand the moral duty to perform organ transplants, in that saving human life is the most important value for every physician and for every Muslim; on the other hand the prohibition of transplants (from a live person or from a corpse), in that they violate the integrity of the human body which is a divine gift to be respected. At present, most of the Islamic lawyers and theologists, although with different emphases, authorize transplants from both live people and from corpses, thus supporting govemment health policies and working to convince the faithful to free themselves of stili widespread prejudices on the matter. While the sale of organs is refused, there is stili no agreement on the criteria for determining cerebral death.