Transplants

Q: What is the Jewish attitude to organ transplants?

A: This subject is vast. Basically there are three considerations and organ transplants that require a response. 1. The donor must actually be dead if an organ is “harvested” from his body.  While it is tempting to keep the body alive to preserve the organ that wants to be harvested, Jewish law forbids this. 2. It is forbidden to mutilate a corpse. 3. It is forbidden to benefit from a corpse.

On the other hand, it is of paramount importance than a life be saved. It is therefore permissible to transplant an organ from a deceased individual. It must be certain, however as stated, that a natural death has occurred.  In such an instance it is permitted to benefit from the dead in order to save a life.

While we normally prohibit any mutilation of a deceased person this prohibition is set aside in the instance of saving another human being. In a similar vein, where life depends on it, one may even eat on Yom Kippur.  Most Jewish laws are suspended when life is in danger.