Currently nearly 124,000 men, women and children are awaiting organ transplants in the United States. Organ donation is the process of giving an organ or a part of an organ for the purpose of transplantation and possibly saving a life. Organ donation can occur with a deceased donor or living donor, but certain organs donated are limited based on the condition of the donor living and upon death. Even though a great number of people are in desperate need for organ donations it is a controversial subject especially when it plays a role in religion. Looked at closely Judaism would seem to oppose the belief of organ donation but it ultimately enthuses it.
Pikuach Nefesh a term used diligently that refers to preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious consideration. This principle in Jewish Law is so important that almost any other law can be broken in order to abide by Pikuach Nefesh. Organ donation that is used to save a child’s, women, or mans life is permitted. Organ donation that is not used in order to saves someone life whereas the donations may be used for medical research, medical students, or just for an organ bank is not permitted. Another area of
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The burial of a person’s entire body is only done to prevent the ritual contamination of Kohanim or also known as Kohen. The Kohen are members of the Jewish community’s priestly class who in the Temple times was in charge of all the sacred rituals. Internal organs no not convey ritual contamination and therefore we should not remove the organs senselessly and there is no true obligation to bury them with the deceased individual. When an organ is taken by a surgeon from a deceased person and is put into living individual that organ is now part of the living person and their body. As far as the need for that organ to be buried with its original owner it is now no longer applicable and impurity is no longer a