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Brain Death, Organ Transplants and Jewish Law

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Jun. 22nd, 2006 | 12:27 pm
mood: curious curious

How's that for heavy?
Recently Shaare Zedek transplated the kidney's from a brain dead person into two other people. And there is controversy about the event. I don't want to argue about whether Shaare Zedek was right or not; I would need to know much more information. But I'm curious as to how other Orthodox feel...no bashing whatever the one's personal opinion is!

Here's a link (also found on YNETs site in the comments) to a site that goes into a deep analysis of brain death from a Jewish perspective. It is quite involved and will take some time to read and digest. Also quite intersting.

If you are an Orthodox Jew, how do you feel, and why?
If you have had a person experience with the issue, did it alter your original feelings? Do you have a donor card?

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Comments {1}

Jennifer/Rivka

(no subject)

from: [info]ichur72
date: Jun. 22nd, 2006 12:51 pm (UTC)
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The short answer is: I don't know, or more precisely, I have mixed feelings. I have no personal experience with this issue -- the closest I've come is hearing my mother's stories about working on a pediatric transplant ward (she's a nure) and having a friend whose husband had a heart transplant after suffering heart failure at age 39. I've been told that from a Jewish perspective, I shouldn't list myself as an organ donor. From a scientific perspective, I find it fascinating that doctors have figured out how to do this. Moving from the general to the specific, I find myself a little uneasy with this particular case. There is a difference between brain death and declared clinical death, in my understanding, as the latter implies that all mechanical intervention (e.g., respirators) has been halted. I do not know all the facts of this situation, but the use of the term "brain dead" makes me wonder what exactly was done with this person's body after the kidneys were removed. If it was kept on the machines, I am uncomfortable with that. I'm not able to explain precisely why except that it makes me feel like the body was perhaps being used (or viewed) as an organ farm. It is all very complex.

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