What is the ruling on transplanting organs from a living person to a living person and donating them?
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The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : What is the ruling on transplanting organs from a living person to a living person, or donating them?
The Shaykh : In my opinion, that is not permissible at all, because it exposes a person to the risk of death. This is from one aspect.
And from another aspect, our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, when He created two kidneys for a human being, He did not create them in vain; rather, they are for a profound wisdom. This wisdom is evident to the eye. Many people live on one kidney, so if one becomes non-functional, the other takes over the function that the first was performing, or something close to that. For this reason, many of those afflicted with the failure of one kidney live, if Allah wills, on the other kidney. This is from one aspect. Therefore, a person disposing of one of them is contrary to this wisdom. In my view, there is no difference between a Muslim volunteering one of his kidneys, or volunteering one of his hands, or one of his legs. But, unfortunately, people look at the issue when it occurs and there is an urgent demand for it, and they investigate it without looking at the other aspects related to the wisdom of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, in creating these two kidneys, or those two legs, or hands. Volunteering is one thing, but if the matter becomes a trade, and this has occurred in this time among some of them, then we limit our discussion to donation and volunteering:
So, in my view, there is no difference between volunteering one of the kidneys, or one of the hands, or legs, as I said earlier. I said: Because many people live on one kidney. A discussion took place between me and more than one doctor. We said: When the doctors examine this person who wants to donate a kidney, they take precautions regarding the suitability for this person's actual condition at the time of examination. If they find that one of the kidneys has some defect compared to both of them, they do not dare to give him permission or perform the kidney separation operation on him. But if it appears to them that both kidneys are one hundred percent healthy, then they may perform the separation operation on one of them. So, my question directed to them was:
Can you judge in the future that the remaining kidney will not be exposed to a disease that would cause the owner of this single kidney to fall into a disease that may lead to his death?
They said: We cannot do that. And from this, it becomes clear that when Allah, Mighty and Majestic, blessed a person with two kidneys, that is for the precaution of this person's future.
It is not permissible for a Muslim to expose himself to death in order to donate to his Muslim brother, let alone if it is to a non-Muslim to save him from the disease he is in or from death.
Finally, here comes the prohibition of the Messenger (peace be upon him) regarding mutilation. There is no doubt that splitting open a person's abdomen and removing a kidney from inside is a type of mutilation for both of them. I do not see the permissibility of this donation, let alone if it is a sale.
The questioner : What is the ruling on transplanting organs from a living person to a living person, or donating them?
The Shaykh : In my opinion, that is not permissible at all, because it exposes a person to the risk of death. This is from one aspect.
And from another aspect, our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, when He created two kidneys for a human being, He did not create them in vain; rather, they are for a profound wisdom. This wisdom is evident to the eye. Many people live on one kidney, so if one becomes non-functional, the other takes over the function that the first was performing, or something close to that. For this reason, many of those afflicted with the failure of one kidney live, if Allah wills, on the other kidney. This is from one aspect. Therefore, a person disposing of one of them is contrary to this wisdom. In my view, there is no difference between a Muslim volunteering one of his kidneys, or volunteering one of his hands, or one of his legs. But, unfortunately, people look at the issue when it occurs and there is an urgent demand for it, and they investigate it without looking at the other aspects related to the wisdom of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, in creating these two kidneys, or those two legs, or hands. Volunteering is one thing, but if the matter becomes a trade, and this has occurred in this time among some of them, then we limit our discussion to donation and volunteering:
So, in my view, there is no difference between volunteering one of the kidneys, or one of the hands, or legs, as I said earlier. I said: Because many people live on one kidney. A discussion took place between me and more than one doctor. We said: When the doctors examine this person who wants to donate a kidney, they take precautions regarding the suitability for this person's actual condition at the time of examination. If they find that one of the kidneys has some defect compared to both of them, they do not dare to give him permission or perform the kidney separation operation on him. But if it appears to them that both kidneys are one hundred percent healthy, then they may perform the separation operation on one of them. So, my question directed to them was:
Can you judge in the future that the remaining kidney will not be exposed to a disease that would cause the owner of this single kidney to fall into a disease that may lead to his death?
They said: We cannot do that. And from this, it becomes clear that when Allah, Mighty and Majestic, blessed a person with two kidneys, that is for the precaution of this person's future.
It is not permissible for a Muslim to expose himself to death in order to donate to his Muslim brother, let alone if it is to a non-Muslim to save him from the disease he is in or from death.
Finally, here comes the prohibition of the Messenger (peace be upon him) regarding mutilation. There is no doubt that splitting open a person's abdomen and removing a kidney from inside is a type of mutilation for both of them. I do not see the permissibility of this donation, let alone if it is a sale.