Q&A: Kidney Donation
Kidney Donation
Question
What is your opinion about donating a kidney to a stranger? Also, is it preferable that the recipient be Jewish, or can it also be a non-Jew? And is it preferable that the recipient be religious, or can it also be a secular person? In addition, would you recommend that your son donate, and if not, why?
Answer
Blessings upon anyone who does so (but there is no obligation). It is preferable, of course, to donate to a Jew (“the poor of your own city come first”), but there is certainly no obligation, nor is it proper to insist that it be only for a Jew. The halakhic decisors maintain that in saving a life, one person is not given precedence over another according to the criteria discussed in Horayot (whoever fulfills more commandments), and therefore a religious person should not be preferred over a secular one. At least two of my children already want to donate, and I am definitely happy and proud of them for that.