Organ donation was discussed live on TV AlHijrah on Monday, 5 November 2012 at 10.00-10.30pm (Malaysia time). The Islamic ruling on organ donation is described as 'mubah' (allowed, diharuskan).
Would you donate your organs?
Depends
Would you donate your child's organs?
Depends. Many people have mixed feelings and doubts. Many are scared to donate. Many don't want to even think about it.
What can we donate?
We can donate eyes, corneas, hearts, heart valves, kidneys, intestines, liver, etc.
Do the organs come from live or dead patients?
Depends on individual case. The situation is complex. Some patients are brain injured, alive but vegetative, on respirator, and the heart is still beating. When the brain is dead, then the heart will cease to function and eventually stop beating, and the patient dies and is declared dead. If the brain is severely injured (accident, stroke, cancer, etc), the brain will not be receiving oxygen since the blood supply is cut short or cannot make it to the brain due to injury. Without a continuous supply of oxygen, the brain dies. When the brain dies, the heart will die, and when the heart stops, the patient is declared dead.
Can we mutilate the corpse?
No. We must follow SOP (standard operating procedure). Organs can survive and are viable when they are properly removed and transported to the recipient. We can only cut out the organ that is required and nothing else. We cannot play with the corpse. We cannot simply mutilate the corpse. We cannot bring shame to the corpse. We must fully respect the corpse, despite not knowing its identity. The corpse is a teaching model and therefore must be respected.
Can we steal body parts during post-mortem?
No. We cannot take any part of the corpse when we do post-mortem. We have to sign papers and strictly follow SOP.
Does age matter?
Old corpse - cannot use the aged heart but can obtain the healthy valves. Must check first if the valves are healthy before obtaining them.
Young child corpse - cannot use the young heart but can obtain the healthy valves. Must check the status of the valves first.
Does religion matter?
The body (jasad) does not matter. Muslims can donate their body parts for non Muslim patients and vice versa. It is hoped that when Muslims donate their body parts, the recipients become good Muslims or better persons.
More information is available at:
Malaysian Society of Transplantation
Facebook: Organ Donation - A Gift of Life
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