Organ donation
Hello Rabbi Michael, I previously signed an Edi card. I asked if this was permissible according to halakhah or if I should cancel it. From an initial reading online, I saw that Rabbi Ovadia opposed Edi for halakhic reasons. I would love to hear your opinion on the matter.
Also, when my late father passed away a little over a year ago, we donated his corneas. I asked if this was prohibited because of the desecration of the dead? Or perhaps for other reasons?
לגלות עוד מהאתר הרב מיכאל אברהם
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In my personal opinion, there is no prohibition, and it is a great commandment to sign. I will explain briefly.
Usually, the problem is posed by the question of what is the moment of death: brain death or heart death. If it is heart death, then even if the donor's brain is dead and his heart is still beating, in which case the doctors decide that this person is considered dead and determine his death (with great impudence, since this is not within their jurisdiction. This is not a medical question but a moral one and they have no relevant knowledge to determine anything about it), then according to Halacha he is alive and taking organs from him is murder. And if the moment of death is brain death, then there is no problem because he is indeed considered dead according to Halacha as well.
But a few comments should be made here. First, the BADI has the option of making the donation conditional on the approval of a Rabbi. Second, even if there is a prohibition on murder, the prohibition is on the doctor (who holds that it is permissible) and not on the donor. Third, my system (published in an article in Tumchumin) is that the dispute regarding the moment of death (brain death or heart death) is not relevant to the discussion of organ donation. Even if the donor is not halakhically considered dead, it is still permissible to take organs from him to save a life, since his blood is less reddened than the blood of the donor. This is of course contrary to the opinion of all the poskim (almost to the last one). But this is my opinion, and if you ask me, I not only permit it but also oblige it. Especially in light of the previous comments.
Regarding the donation of a cornea, it seems to me that it is simply permissible, since he is already dead. And isn't saving a person's eyesight worth the death of a deceased person? Eye damage is considered a form of protection for the soul that violates Shabbat. So how can they not violate the prohibition of the death of a deceased person (which is much more important than Shabbat) for her?! And jurists have also written that when the cornea is transplanted into another person, it is alive and in any case there is no obligation to bury it. Therefore, there is no death and no burial here.
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