Date : 25-07-2010

Question :

Is it religiously permissible to donate the organs of the deceased without a will to that end? Supposing that there is such will, what is the Islamic ruling on both cases?


The Answer :

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.


 


Most of the contemporary jurists who deem organ donation permissible have stipulated basic conditions in this regard. One of them is that the  procedure does  not harm the life of the donor and its success is established or most likely, in addition to other conditions.


Amongst these conditions are those stipulated in Resolution No. (26, 4/1) of the Islamic Fiqh Assembly of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. It stated that the consent of the heirs or the guardian, in case there was no heirs, is sufficient. It stated: "It is conditioned that the deceased person had approved donating his organs before he died, the heirs approved that after his death or those in authority approved that in case the deceased was anonymous or had no heirs."


This was also adopted by Resolution No. (2) of the Jordanian Iftaa` Council-in reference to the conditions that make donating corneas, only,  permissible. This Resolution stated: "It is stipulated that the deceased had donated his corneas before he died or his heirs had approved of it."


In conclusion, if there is a will then it is permissible to donate the organs of the deceased and execute this will. If there isn`t a will permitting such thing, then it suffices to take the permission of the heirs. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.