MUI Issues Fatwa Regarding Organ Transplants
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19 June 2019 19:33 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa overseeing cases regarding organ transplants from specific cases where a living donor donates or sells their organs. In its decision, MUI decided that such practice should not be done if it does not follow the following rules.
MUI argues that human organs are beyond proprietary items (haqqul miliki) which is why organ transplantation – that is not based on the Islamic Sharia law – is deemed haram.
MUI’s fatwa commission secretary Asrorun Ni'am Sholeh said that the latest edict filed under Fatwa MUI No.13/2019 acts as a guide for society in general and the government.
“It’s a guide for medical practices and a reference upon creating a law,” said Asrorun to Tempo on Wednesday, June 19.
He says that the publishing of the fatwa responds to the questions that come from people in general and the Health Ministry in regards of the legal standing of an organ transplant, which the MUI sees as a medical work acted out to transfer a human organ from one individual to another that suffers from organ damage.
An organ transplant from a living donor to another human patient is acceptable as long as it is done under emergency circumstances that are permitted by the sharia laws. The situation must also not present any health danger (dharar) for the donor.
The clause in the MUI fatwa also oversees the type of organs that can be used as a donor. They deemed that it shall not be a vital organ that would significantly affect a person’s life or wellbeing.
The council also maintained that organ transplants are acceptable when it is the only option that is available. MUI made sure that organ transplantations must not be acted on commercial reasons.
This new fatwa that is officially applied since March 8, 2019, also made sure that an expert’s opinion is needed to assess the possibility and odds of such organ transplant would be a success or not.
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