Campaigning for organ donation at mosques

Dublin Core

Title

Campaigning for organ donation at mosques

Author

Rady, Mohamed Y.
Verheijde, Joseph L.

Publisher

2016/09/00

Language

English

Publication Date

20160900

Abstract

There is a trend of recruiting faith leaders at mosques to overcome religious barriers to organ donation, and to increase donor registration among Muslims. Commentators have suggested that Muslims are not given enough information about organ donation in religious sermons or lectures delivered at mosques. Corrective actions have been recommended, such as funding campaigns to promote organ donation, and increasing the availability of organ donation information at mosques. These actions are recommended despite published literature expressing safety concerns (i.e., do no harm) in living and end-of-life organ donation. Living donors require life-long medical follow-up and treatment for complications that can appear years later. Scientific and medical controversies persist regarding the international guidelines for death determination in end-of-life donation. The medical criteria of death lack validation and can harm donors if surgical procurement is performed without general anesthesia and before biological death. In the moral code of Islam, the prevention of harm holds precedence over beneficence. Moral precepts described in the Quran encourage Muslims to be beneficent, but also to seek knowledge prior to making practical decisions. However, the Quran also contains passages that demand honesty and truthfulness when providing information to those who are seeking knowledge. Currently, information is limited to that which encourages donor registration. Campaigning for organ donation to congregations in mosques should adhere to the moral code of complete, rather than selective, disclosure of information. We recommend as a minimal standard the disclosure of risks, uncertainties, and controversies associated with the organ donation process.

Primary Classification

19.5

Secondary Classification

19.5;1.2

Primary keywords

information dissemination--[pri];modern Muslim religious scholars--[pri];Muslims--[pri];organ donation--[pri]

Secondary keywords

determination of death;harm;Islamic ethics;living donors;persuasive communication;risk;terminal care

Subject

Malaysia

Journal Article

HEC Forum2016 September; 28(3):193-204

Note

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Call Number

citation

Bibliography

57 refs

ISSN

09562737 (print);15728498 (online)

Collection

Citation

“Campaigning for organ donation at mosques,” Islamic Medical & Scientific Ethics, accessed January 16, 2025, https://imse.ibp.georgetown.domains/items/show/37482.