Q&A: The Value of Life
The Value of Life
Question
I remember that the Rabbi spoke about organ transplantation from a patient who will die in just a few more moments, and the Rabbi said that according to the reasoning of “who says?” it could very well be that his blood is worth less, and therefore it may be possible to take his organs. My question is: isn’t there a problem with the very act of killing itself? And isn’t there a problem with killing someone even if he is going to die on his own in a few more moments? Even in order to save someone else? Somewhat like what the Rabbi said exists in the trolley dilemma—that the person pushing does indeed save more people, but performs an act of killing a single individual, and therefore it may be forbidden to push… Thank you!
Answer
This is not about a patient who will die in a few more moments, but about a patient who has already died now—brain death. In the opinion of several halakhic decisors and many philosophers, he is already considered dead. My claim was that even according to the views that consider him alive, one may treat him as someone whose blood is less red. Here too, of course, his consent is required, since otherwise one may not take an organ from a person even in order to save another person.