Organ Transplantation – Halachic Questions
Organ Transplantation – Halachic Questions
Question posed by: Representative from the Audience
Response by: Rabbi Saul Israeli
Senior Member
Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel
1. Organs from a living donor
May a person endanger his own life by donating an organ, or tissue such as bone-marrow, kidney, liver-lobe or lung-lobe?
What degree of danger is allowed, and what degree of danger is forbidden?
Is a person obliged to donate an organ if required to save another person's life?
2. Sale of Organs
Is a person allowed to donate an organ or tissue from his body for payment?
Is the sale of organs allowed, or forbidden?
3. Organs from a Corpse
Is a person obliged, or even allowed, to consent during his lifetime to the donation of organs after his death?
Is a person obliged, or even allowed, to sign a form of consent and to carry a donor's card?
4. What is the status of the family of a deceased person in respect of consenting or refusing to donate organs?