Organ Donation in Islam: The Interplay of Jurisprudence, Ethics, and Society

A 2023 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title Organ Donation in Islam: The Interplay of Jurisprudence, Ethics, and Society delves into the complexities and nuances of organ donation in Muslim communities. A diverse group of authors including Muslim jurists, academic researchers, clinicians and policy stakeholders engage with the multi-faceted topic. Contributions from Sunni and Shia scholars are positioned alongside each other, giving the reader an appreciation of the different Islamic traditions and legal methodologies; and qualitative research examining the views and potential concerns of Muslim families towards donating organs of loved ones is juxtaposed with the work of academicians and community advocates engaging diverse Muslim communities to equip them with the knowledge and tools to make informed donation decisions. Taken together the collection yields new ethical, empirical and sociological insights into how issues of body ownership, the definition of death, and community engagement interface with the act of donation. Accordingly, this wide-ranging volume represents a invaluable resource for religious leaders, healthcare professionals, social scientists, policy makers, researchers, and others interested in the interplay between contemporary healthcare, religious tradition, health policy and the topic of organ donation.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Aasim I. Padela, Mahdiyah Jaffer and Gurch Randhawa Part I: Jurisprudential and Theological Discourses 1. Our Organs Belong to God: Sunni Islamic Legal Perspective to Property in the Body by Rafaqat Rashid 2. Shi?i Juristic Perspectives on Bodily Ownership, Autonomy and the Prohibition of Self-Harm by Mahdiyah Jaffer 3. Organ Donation in Islamic Juridical Ethics by Abdulaziz Sachedina 4. Soul-Searching: Organ Donation, Death and the Social Construction of the Soul by Mansur Ali 5. Islamic Normativity Regarding Brain Death: Implications for Organ Donation by Arif Abdul-Hussain Part II: Ethical Perspectives and Lived Experiences 6. 'You can Receive but not Give': The Ethical Dilemma of Organ Donation by Liyakat Takim 7. 'Muslims do not Donate Organs': A Qualitative Inquiry into Perspectives Towards Organ Transplantation Among Muslims in India by Aasia Qayium and Ankita Mukherjee 8. Are 'Brain-Dead' Patients Really Cadavers? 'Brain Death' from the Viewpoint of Iranian Shi?i fiqh and C

About the Author :
Mahdiyah Jaffer is research co-ordinator at Al-Mahdi Institute (AMI). Aasim I. Padela is professor of emergency medicine, bioethics and the medical humanities at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Gurch Randhawa is professor of diversity in public health and director of the UK Organ Donation & Transplant Research Centre at University of Bedfordshire.

Review :
This exquisitely edited, comprehensive volume feels like many books in one: a treatise on Islamic theology and the casuistry of organ donation, a lively work on commonly encountered impressions and misconceptions about the Islamic attitude toward transplants, and an exploration of the social and political dimensions of organ donation among Muslim communities. Each of the four parts includes a selection of texts that focus on the main issues at hand while maintaining a strict tonal coherence and analytical depth throughout. This collection will appeal to Islamic experts and practitioners who want to better understand their own tradition, including the diversity of opinions and nuances. For non-Muslim bioethicists and even for general readers, this volume is the most accessible, richest collection so far on the sometimes complex, often little-known Islamic teachings and traditions pertaining to organ donation and its connected problems. It includes questions about living donors, compensated donation, death determination, and especially social attitudes toward organ ablation. The volume closes with a carefully reasoned expert summary of the lessons this compilation offers. Advanced readers will likely prefer to navigate chapters in normal order. For a fruitful experience, though, beginners may start from this final chapter and proceed backward toward the first. Highly recommended. All readers. Organ Donation in Islam: The Interplay of Jurisprudence, Ethics, and Society makes an important scholarly contribution at the intersection of the Islamic tradition and biomedicine. Co-edited by an interdisciplinary team, the book covers important ethical issues related to organ donation among Muslim communities. This work continues lines of inquiry important to the field of clinical medical ethics as it relates to patient decision making regarding organ donation and transplantation.