Cadaveric Donors

Islamic jurisprudence adheres clearly to the basic concept of the needs of the living outweigh those of the dead when dealing with organ donation and transplantation.⁴⁴ This conforms the Islamic concept that saving a life or extending it is like saving or extending the life of all mankind.⁴⁵ Doubtless today, the dead body bears its right to sanctity and wholeness. A medical team or doctors must discuss in advance with the family or relatives of the deceased in order to obtain the consent. There should be no pressure applied or any form of coercion on the family in taking organ donation of a deceased member of the family. This principle must be upheld according to Islamic ethics even if it means posing a risk to the life of a living person who happens to be gravely ill. The human body, even when dead, must be venerated and respected.

The soul departs the body, but it does not mean the value of the human body is lessened or undermined, according to the teachings of Islam.⁴⁶ A human body is venerated whether it is living or dead. A story is narrated about prophet Mohammad when he heard about a man who broke the bone of a dead man in a cemetery. The Prophet rebuked the man and said, “The sin of breaking the bones of a dead man is equal to the sin of breaking the bones of a living man.”⁴⁷ Body mutilation is strictly forbidden in Islam. That is why some jurisprudents in the past objected to organ donation by cutting up an organ from a dead body or for organ harvesting.

Such practice counted as body mutilation, the jurists believed. However, new discourse emerged.

Scholars and jurisprudents justified organ donation from a dead corpse on the Islamic premise of

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prolonging a life or saving it. This does not pertain merely to body mutilation. It is about the principle of saving a life which justifies taking an organ from a dead corpse. In many Muslim-Majority countries, medical knowledge and expertise have contributed to such outlook. Islamic view considers God is the ultimate “owner” of the organs as God is the creator of the universe and human body is a creation of God; an organ is like a property. Thus, for a Muslim to donate an organ is a justified and permissible act as God places a high value on saving or extending a life.⁴⁸

Organ donation from a cadaveric donor carries positive and negative aspects. The method means avoiding a potential harm to the living by donating an organ. Also, multiple organs can be harvested from a cadaveric donor in one operation for an ultimate benefit for numerous people.

The drawback concerning donating an organ from a cadaveric donor is the issue of the “quality”

of an organ which could be compromised by ischemia or infection. Time factor is highly crucial in the immediate period for transplantation, depending on the overall state of the specific organ.

In Islamic tradition, the dead body must be prepared for burial as soon as possible. A Dead body is subject to putrefaction which could be more so in a hot climate. Islam forbids cremation. The funeral of a dead person must be given full veneration. There is a story when Prophet Mohammad stood in veneration during the passing of a funeral of a dead Jew during a time when the Jews waged a war against him. One of the companions of the prophet said, “It is the funeral of a Jew.” The prophet replied, “Is it not a human soul.”⁴⁹

Muslims across the world found themselves seeking fatwas and informed opinions on the question of organ donation from a dead body. Jurists produced many fatwas during the second half of the 20th century throughout the Islamic World. Jurists in Egypt and Tunisia permitted corneal transplants from dead cadaveric bodies under certain specific conditions. The Grand

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Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Hassan Mamoon allowed corneal transplants from a dead body of an unidentified person or from persons who agreed in advance to donate upon their death. This fatwa was dated to 14 April 1959 with number 1084. Al bar 820. Another fatwa by his successor Sheikh Hureidi, allowed organ donation to extend to other organs in 1966, known as Fatwa number 993.⁵⁰ In 1973, the Grant Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Khater, permitted the harvesting of a skin from an unidentified dead corpse. Also, another Grand Mufti, Gad Al Haq, sanctioned organ donation from cadaveric donors under the condition there was a prior testament or a will. The consent by relatives is highly relevant and important as this fatwa indicates. In 1979, Fatwa number 1323 stated that an order from a magistrate must be obtained in advance of harvesting organs from an unidentified corpse.⁵¹ Sheikh Gad Al Haq also pointed out that organ donation from living donors should be considered as a free act for good faith, love for God and human fraternity.⁵² The International Islamic Jurists Council, in Amman, in 1986, acknowledged and recognized brain-death as a sign of death.⁵³ This decision took organ donation to another level where organs can be obtained from brain-dead persons. Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries in the Muslim World to implement the new direction of obtaining organ donation from brain-dead persons. Following to that decision, the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) and the Islamic Fiqh Academy (IFA) came up with further important fatwas on the subject of donor donation. In Saudi Arabia alone, more than 3600 organs were transplanted from brain-death persons by the end of 2008.⁵⁴

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