Are You An Organ Donor?

[shapsam]

A hatzala bus cannot pick up a goy to save his life even if they are already driving even if he is going to die otherwise.

These days they would have to (in order to be allowed to save jews).

[ChaimMoskowitz]

OK help me out here. You cant give your organ away when you die but you can receive an organ from a dead person?

[davidrotts63]

OK help me out here. You cant give your organ away when you die but you can receive an organ from a dead person?

Is that hard to understand? If your religious beliefs don't prevent you from donating, we'll take it.

[avromie7]

OK help me out here. You cant give your organ away when you die but you can receive an organ from a dead person?

Correct.

[shapsam]

OK help me out here. You cant give your organ away when you die but you can receive an organ from a dead person?

If that dead person is a not Jewish there's nothing wrong with it. "Kavod hammes" is only for a Jew.

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Is that hard to understand? If your religious beliefs don't prevent you from donating, we'll take it.

It is very easy for me to understand. I believe it will be hard for you to understand the ugly truth.

[davidrotts63]

If that dead person is a not Jewish there's nothing wrong with it. "Kavod hammes" is only for a Jew.

@aygart?

[davidrotts63]

It is very easy for me to understand. I believe it will be hard for you to understand the ugly truth.

which is?

[ChaimMoskowitz]

which is?

If at all possible try and look at it from a non-Jew perspective. If you can do that you will have your answer.

[hvaces42]

Why isn’t pikuach nefesh דוחה this ? It’s דוחה shabbos, kashrus & most other mitzvas.

Because they "harvest" the organ when the patient is alive according to halacha. Brain death is not death. So if one donates organs it requires someone pulling a plug, which is the same pikuach nefesh for the one that the organs are coming from.

[Dan]

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/635401/jewish/Organ-Donation.htm

[Redbull3]

Great, so I just learned 2 things that make me embarrassed to be Jewish. Hopefully my Rabbi can give a logical explanation for these. Can we delete this thread. I'm going to crawl in a hole now.

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Great, so I just learned 2 things that make me embarrassed to be Jewish. Hopefully my Rabbi can give a logical explanation for these. Can we delete this thread. I'm going to crawl in a hole now.

WOW, somebody gets it.

[aygart]

Just to give a little clarification to the questions here but this is not really the proper forum for a real discussion so i will leave it at this..

The primary issue is that in order to harvest the organ it needs to have been oxygenated the entire time. The only way to accomplish that is if blood is still circulating. That creates issues of doing the procedures whil the person may still be alive and creates chayei sha'a issues. The is some controversy about this with Rabbi Tendler quoting Rav Moshe as having had cases where he allowed it but talmidim of his dispute this. Once the organ is already harvested the "deed is done" and there is no restriction on its use. There are many other issues involved as well.

[hvaces42]

Great, so I just learned 2 things that make me embarrassed to be Jewish. Hopefully my Rabbi can give a logical explanation for these. Can we delete this thread. I'm going to crawl in a hole now.

We dont pull plugs. Therefore, we cannot donate organs, other than kidneys and part of liver, with which a person can live without. By definition, the donor is dying when their organs are "harvested". But they are not dead. They dont use organs from dead people, AFAIK. 

Why is that something to be embarrassed about? We are on the lists just like anyone else on the donation list. If you tied donating to receiving then we wouldnt receive.

[davidrotts63]

If at all possible try and look at it from a non-Jew perspective. If you can do that you will have your answer.

Say from your religious views you can't donate a kidney, would that prevent me from donating one to you?
Remember as well, we wouldn't do it even if it guaranteed went to a jew.

[JoeyShmoe]

It's the same reason for not having an autopsy, even when apparent homicide. There are organizations the are always busy making sure that no autopsy is done on a Jewish Niftar. @ChaimMoskowitz I understand why to a non Jew this would seem wrong, but you have to understand, it's not that we don't donate because we're afraid that a non Jew will get the organ (there are Jews donating kidneys altruistically to non Jews all of the time, I have intimate knowledge of that, I was very close to doing that myself), it's simply because we treat our deceased with utmost respect (we also insist on burying ASAP out of respect).

@Redbull3 if this makes you embarrassed to be Jewish, you've got many other Judaism issues...

[Redbull3]

We dont pull plugs. Therefore, we cannot donate organs, other than kidneys and part of liver, with which a person can live without. By definition, the donor is dying when their organs are "harvested". But they are not dead. They dont use organs from dead people, AFAIK. 

Why is that something to be embarrassed about? We are on the lists just like anyone else on the donation list. If you tied donating to receiving then we wouldnt receive.

I am ok with the no donating and yes receiving concept.

My 2 issues right now from this thread were brought up tangentially:
1. pikuach nefesh doesn't apply to a goy (the hatzolah example) and
2. kavod hames doesn't apply to a goy

[shwarmabob]

Halachic Organ Donor Society https://hods.org/
https://www.adi.gov.il/en/
https://www.adi.gov.il/en/position-of-the-halacha/

[Redbull3]

@Redbull3 if this makes you embarrassed to be Jewish, you've got many other Judaism issues...

define this