Organ Donations

The Talmud discusses a variety of halachic issues that pertain to the recipient of the organ. As stated earlier, the National Waiting List selects the recipient of an available organ based on the similarity of blood and tissue types, the size of the available organ, the seriousness of the patient’s illness, the length of time the recipient already spent on the waiting list and the physical distance between the donor and the transplant candidate (Organ Donation and Transplantation). Jewish law, however, gives some insight into what the order of precedence ought to be. The Mishnah and the Talmud document lengthy debates regarding this question. Many discuss which gender takes precedence in a given situation. For example, in the Mishnah Horayos 3:7, it is written that when both a man and a woman are unclothed, and clothes become available, the woman gets the clothes because a woman feels more shame when she lacks proper attire. Additionally, when a man and a woman are in captivity, the woman is ransomed before the man because the woman is more vulnerable than the man. However, a man is saved before a woman if both are drowning because a man is required to fulfill more commandments than a woman (Babylonian Talmud Horayos 13a). Rabbi Yosef Karo, the 15th century author of the halachic code of Jewish law entitled Shulchan Aruch, concludes that when providing basic necessities for life, one must give to a woman first; however, when one is faced with sustaining the life of a man or woman, the man takes precedence (Kesubos 67a, Beis Yosef).

Halachic questions regarding the doctor performing an organ transplant procedure has been discussed among rabbis as well. Scripture states in Exodous 20:13, “you shall not murder.” When a doctor remove...

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...volved. Halacha also affects their disinclination to release their relatives’ organs for donation post-mortem. Among the issues regarding live organ donation are the prohibitions of intentionally wounding oneself and sacrificing one’s life for the life of another. When there are great risks involved in donating an organ, a Jew is not required to do so, and he may even be prohibited to donate. Included in the issues involved in post-mortem organ donations are the prohibitions of deriving benefit, mutilating, and delaying the burial of the dead. Additionally, halachic issues arise regarding whether ritual defilement of priests applies to organ recipients and how the moment of death is defined. The HOD Society claims that Orthodox Jews are permitted, or even required to donate their organs because pikuach nefesh supersedes all other positive commandments in the Bible.