Islam allows organ transplants

By Imran Naeem Ahmad

January 23, 2007

ISLAMABAD: Islam allows the transplant of human organs to save lives, a leading medical specialist said on Sunday at a seminar that the organisers said was the first ever here on Islam and health.

"Allah Almighty says that if someone saves a life, it is as if he has saved the life of all people," he said. He said that transplantation was possible because organs do not die along with the brain. "They survive for time periods which vary from organ to organ," he stated at the seminar titled "Health -- an Islamic perspective", organised by the Muslim Medical Research Forum (MMRF) at the Shifa International Hospital.

He said that transplantations are carried out with the donor's consent, and that without his approval the operation is not performed. "The consenting donor should give his free will and there should be no pressure on him from any quarter," he said. He added that organs should be retrieved from a dead person, but if a body was unavailable, then a living donor was permissible. The deceased person should have given consent prior to his passing away, or it could also be given by a close relative, and lastly, specialists have to state that the transfer of the organ was essential and without it there was impending danger to the life of a person.

He also spoke on the issue of the sale of human organs. "The body is donated to man by Almighty Allah and he cannot sell a thing which has been awarded to him as a present," he said. But he also questioned why a person was forced to sell an organ in a social welfare Islamic state. "Although sale of human organs is a heinous crime and should be punished, the question is: who is responsible for this pathetic situation?"

Dr Shahid Athar, chairman of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), lectured on the ethics of a Muslim physician and said that the principles of Islamic medicine emphasised the sanctity of life and on seeking cures. He said that a male Muslim physician should not perform unnecessary examinations on female patients and only examine her in the presence of a nurse or a female relative. He also stated IMANA's stance on abortion, and said, "Abortion is not permitted except to save a mother's life only when both lives cannot be saved. No woman should suffer the psychological trauma of having to carry a fetus of rape, incest or a malformed fetus, but in such cases the decision should be on merit of each case after consultations with the ulema."

Copyright © 2007 Pakistan Daily Times.

This article posted March 22, 2007.