A Gift For Life

Did you know that Jewish law frowns upon elective surgery? After all, as any doctor will tell you (or all those release forms will make you realize), there is no surgery that is totally risk-free.

However, the mitzvah of saving a life (pikuach nefesh) is so great that it precedes most other mitzvot. So, what should one do if asked to donate a kidney or part of a liver — both forms of transplant surgery, that can save a life without necessarily threatening the donor’s life?

As organ transplant procedures only began to meet with regular success in the middle of the 20th century, this is a fairly recent question for Jewish law. After ascertaining that transplant surgeries have a low rate of danger to the donor, most Jewish legal authorities determined that such procedures, while voluntary, are permissible.

Since a transplant is only performed in dire circumstances, usually to save a person’s life, would a person then be obligated to donate his/her organs if found compatible? The answer to this question is “No,” you are not obligated to donate. While the medical statistics have shown that transplant procedures usually present low risk to donors, they are not risk free, and Jewish law does not, and will not, require it. But, if you choose to donate, it may be permitted as you could save a life.

NOTE: As with all Treats dealing with halacha (points of Jewish law), questions should be addressed to the local rabbi for practical application.

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