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February 21, 2003/Adar1 19 5763, Vol. 55, No. 26
Organ and tissue donation is a mitzvah for Jews
LILA BALTMAN
Special to Jewish News
Do you know what the Hebrew words "pikuah nefesh" mean? They translate to "the mitzvah of saving a life," which is considered to be one of Judaism's highest values.
Did you also know that at the present time, there are approximately 80,000 Americans and 1,000 Israelis who are waiting for donated organs? An estimated 14 people die each day because donor organs are not available.
With these sobering statistics in mind, Hadassah Valley of the Sun and the Shalom Center of Temple Chai recently sponsored an educational program called "Pikuah Nefesh - To Save a Life" which aimed to teach everyone in attendance about the crucial, life-saving practice of organ and tissue donation.
It was also an opportunity to shed some light on the Jewish point of view on organ donation, and to dispel the common myth that Jewish law prohibits this medical practice.
Alice Glazer Condulis of Scottsdale, says she has "felt torn" her whole life about becoming an organ donor because she had been taught that organ donation was "simply not something that Jews did."
She had always wanted to sign a donor card, she discloses, but as a Jew, has never felt completely secure in doing so.
All of this changed for Condulis after she heard the facts at the event. By the end of the evening, she was very comfortable with her decision and "ready to sign up."
According to Rabbi Martin Scharf, Chaplain at Kivel Campus of Care in Phoenix, many rabbis themselves are listed as organ and tissue donors.
"Donating an organ is perfectly acceptable and looked at as a great mitzvah," he says. "And if you are an organ donor, you can still be buried in Jewish consecrated ground."
The fact is that all four branches of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist) support and encourage organ and tissue donation.
According to Orthodox Rabbi Moses Tendler, chairman of the Biology department of Yeshiva University in New York City and chairman of the Bioethics Commission of the Rabbinical Council of America, "If one is in the position to donate an organ to save another's life, it's obligatory to do so, even if the donor never knows who the beneficiary will be."
The basic principle of Jewish ethics - the infinite worth of the human being - also includes donation of corneas, since eyesight restoration is considered a life-saving operation.
In 1991, the Rabbinical Council of America (Orthodox) approved organ donations as permissible, even required, from brain-dead patients. Both the Reform and Conservative movements also have policy statements strongly supporting donation.
10 Important Facts about Organ and Tissue Donation:
- All individuals can indicate their intent to donate (persons under 18 years of age must have parent's or guardian's consent). Medical suitability for donation is determined at the time of death.
- One person can potentially help more than 50 other people, improving or saving the lives of those suffering from organ failure, bone defects, burns or blindness.
- Donated organs are removed surgically, in a routine operation similar to gall bladder or appendix removal. Normal funeral arrangements are possible.
- You may specify what organs you want donated. Your wishes will be followed.
- The donor's family does not pay for the cost of the organ donation. All costs related to donation of organs and tissues are paid for by the recipient, usually through insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.
- Sharing your decision to be an organ donor will prevent confusion about your wishes, and bring comfort to your family members in their time of grief.
- Family refusal to consent to organ and tissue donation has been cited as one of the key factors in the shortage of organs.
- Organs may be donated from someone as young as a newborn. Age limits for organ donation no longer exist. However, the general age limit for tissue donation is 70.
- Even if you have signed a donor card or indicated your wish to donate on your driver's license, you must tell your family members of your decision, as they will be consulted before donation can take place.
- Speak with your physician, your rabbi and your attorney to make sure that the proper procedures are followed, such as including your intentions in your Living Will.
Lila Baltman is a Phoenix-based free-lance writer.
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