Organs

Q: Why do organs from a deceased baby require burial?

A: The body is a whole organism.  When it ceases to function Jewish law (halacha) requires that it be buried.  What constitutes a body?  Is it say, just the outer shell not the internal organs?  Should it be just that which is physically recognizable of that person?  If so, what do we do about someone disfigured by a an accident?

Judaism considers the person as a whole.  we are our heart as much as our liver and bones and skin.  All requires burial.  The age of person makes no difference in the dignity afforded them.

In biblical and Talmudic terms, the internal organs of a deceased person are as much a cause of tumah, ritual impurity, as the body itself.

The question about a baby acknowledges that the child was not born fully viable or died shortly after birth.  In such a sad case; the principles of burial still apply.

When a person is alive and has  a part of the body excised there are times when those parts are buried and other times they are not.  Organs require burial if they are composed of these elements: bone, flesh, and sinew.  Limbs also fall into this category.