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Back to Question of the Week From time to time, we are asked about Organ donation. Here is a response from Rabbi Loevinger. You can also read Rabbi Schwartz's column. Q: Recently I have been hearing about the Organ Donor program. What is the Jewish response to Organ Donation? Michael |
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A: Dear Michael: I'm very glad you asked that question, because it gives the Reb on the Web a chance to address a widespread misconception about Jewish practice. Many Jews are familiar with the concept of kavod ha'met, which means "honour of the deceased." Typically, this includes: making sure the body is not left alone until burial [shemirah], not having an "open casket" funeral, burying the body as quickly as one reasonably can, and so on. Another aspect of kavod ha'met which is directly relevant to the issue of organ donation is the practice of burying the body without disfiguring it or violating its wholeness in any way. Thus, for example, in the case of terrible accidents, all body parts, even a bit of skin or blood, are buried together, and needless autopsies are generally discouraged. However, and this is the important part, it is nearly unanimous among Reform and Conservative rabbinical authorities that removing a part of a body, such as the corneas or internal organs, for the purpose of saving or healing another life, is not only permissible, but a fulfillment of our duty to save and protect human life whenever we can. This mitzvah is traced back to the Torah itself: "Do not stand by the blood of your fellow-person " (Lev. 19:16), which the rabbis understand as a general commandment to render aid unto others. One other objection that some people have to organ donation is the possibility that organs will be harvested while the patient is still technically "alive," and thus the act of removing the organs for transplantation will hasten death. This could indeed be a very severe violation of Jewish law, which generally prohibits actions which actually speed up the process of dying (as opposed to letting nature take its course, which is another, complex discussion.) However, R. Steven Morgan reports, in the print version of a position paper issued by the United Synagogue, that as early as the late 1960's the Chief Rabbis of both Britain and Israel were permitting heart transplants, which would require the patient to be "brain dead" but still breathing. The Reform and Conservative rabbinates also accept brain death as an acceptable criteria for death in this case. Thus, the Conservative movement approved a rabbinical ruling in 1995 that is not only permissible, but obligatory for Jews to consent to become organ donors if possible. Without addressing the issue of organ donation directly, the Reform rabbinate passed a resolution in 1993 allowing for the medical use of tissues obtained from fetuses. This procedure raises many of the same ethical issues as organ donation, in my opinion (although some different ones, too), and thus can be seen as part of the same general trend towards encouraging Jews to make affirmative decisions for human life whenever possible. For more information on this complicated topic, see R. Elliott Dorff, Matters of Life and Death: A Jewish Approach to Bio-Ethics. Reform rabbinic responsa on the issue of organ donation can be found in American Reform Responsa, available from the CCAR. Even better, a non-technical explanation of the Reform position, and a printable organ donation card, can be found on the UAHC website. NJL |
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