Dear Hadi,
I just recently turned 60 and had to renew my driver’s license.
I declined when I got to the part about whether I wanted to be an organ donor.
My young adult children gave me so much flack for that; it made me rethink my position.
Should I donate my organs?
I had always understood that Islamically, this is a questionable practice because it amounts to desecrating the body.
Moreover, I have an irrational fear that I may somehow need my organs on the Day of Resurrection.
As I said, I know it’s irrational, as people sometimes die in fires or explosions that destroy their organs, or the organs decay ordinarily after death.
Anyways, what do you think?
Is it Halal?
Should I do it?
Dear Hesitant Organ Donor,
You raise a critical issue. In general, there are two broad opinions.
The first is the one you mentioned, that this is equivalent to desecrating the body, and some people quote a hadith where the Prophet (PBUH) stated that breaking someone’s bones after they died was equivalent to breaking their bones when they were alive.
However, more and more Muslim scholars and organizations are coming around to the idea that organ donation is definitely allowed and may be a great act of charity.
In fact, it may be considered a sadaqah jarriyah (a perpetual charity).
This is based in part on verse 5:32 in the Quran:
مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًۢا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحْيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًا
Because of this did We ordain unto the children of Israel that if anyone slays a human being-unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth-it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.
we believe this opinion has merit, and the verse applies (and God knows best).
For example, there are currently over 104,000 people (men, women, and children) on the national transplant waiting list in the USA.
Every day, 17 people die waiting for an organ transplant, and it is estimated that every donor can save eight lives and enhance over 75 more.
For example, as of January 2023, 88,901 patients were waiting for a kidney transplant.
However, in 2022, only 25,499 kidney transplants were performed, leaving a big gap between the need and the supply.
To make you comfortable that this is halal, we have included a link to the specific fatwa on this issue by the Fiqh Council of North America, which allows it:
The Moral Status of Organ Donation and Transplantation Within Islamic Law: The Fiqh Council of North America’s Position - PMC (nih.gov) (Alternate Link)
Since you specifically asked us whether you should be an organ donor, we will answer you directly: yes, you should.
However, as a careful and concerned Muslim, there are a couple of issues that you must consider.
The various fatwas that have said this is halal/desirable differ on one key element.
That element is how death is defined. Very often, in organ donation, death is defined by the “brain death” criteria, where doctors declare the patient to be brain dead, even though the heart continues to beat and other organs continue to function through artificial life support.
Muslims have differed on whether brain death is sufficient to allow organ harvesting (because the heart is still beating) or whether there needs to be cardiovascular death, where the heart stops.
For example, if you check out the Fiqh Council of North America fatwa, you will see that they do not accept the brain death criteria and say that based on caution (ihtiyat) they require cardiovascular death.
However, other scholars do allow the brain death criteria.
If you are asking for our opinion, we believe that brain death is sufficient, and, as always, God knows best.
However, this is a very personal decision you must make.
There is general agreement that you cannot be an organ donor without giving your explicit permission. Therefore, change it on your driver’s license to get a pink sticker or put it in your living will if you decide to proceed.
Regarding your “irrational fear,” don’t be too hard on yourself. You have touched on a long philosophical debate about whether the resurrection is bodily or spiritual.
Just to amuse you, this issue was taken up by the famous Christian scholar Saint Thomas Aquinas.
He cited a very clever example to rebut the notion of bodily resurrection.
He asked those who supported the notion of bodily resurrection how cannibals and their victims could both be resurrected bodily since the bodies of the cannibals are made up of parts of the bodies of their victims.
Indeed, it is a clever argument that may further help alleviate your concerns.
Lastly, we ask you to consider the situation where God forbid, you or one of your children might need an organ transplant to live.
Would you accept it?
If the answer is yes, that should, inshallah, make you more comfortable being on the donor side of the equation.
God bless you in your choice, and we thank you for asking such an important question.
In peace.