Experts discuss organ transplants

Experts discuss organ transplants

JAKARTA (JP): Islamic medical experts are discussing crucial
questions on health technologies, including whether religious
laws permit uterus transplants and transplants of animal organs.

Opened by Minister of Health Sujudi yesterday, the
International Seminar and Annual Meeting of the Federation of
Islamic Medical Associations discussed in general challenges that
Moslems will face with advances in medical technologies.

"In general, participants agreed yesterday that Islam is not
opposed to organ transplants," Azrul Azwar, chairman of the
Indonesian Medical Association, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

He expressed surprise at the kind of questions and suggestions
that the more than 100 participants posed during the seminar.
Many were intellectually stimulating, "very good questions", but
may seem farfetched, he said.

He admitted, however, that what may seem as unrealistic today
may become reality in the near future.

Among the speakers were Tarmizi Hakim from the Harapan Kita
Cardiac Hospital, Shabir Ahmad Wadee from South Africa and Ahmad
bin Sallehuddin from the National Heart Institute, Malaysia.

Azrul said the seminar also discussed the lack of donors for
organ transplants.

In Egypt, there is no difficulties in finding donors for organ
transplants, he said, "A Sudanese who needs an organ transplant
can easily go to Egypt to find a donor," he said.

In Malaysia, on the contrary, donors are difficult to find.

"Even though Islamic teachings do not oppose organ
transplants, local culture and low education levels sometimes
make people reluctant to become donors," Azrul said.

For instance, a child is often told that when a person dies,
he should be buried with all of his organs intact. "When the
child grew up, he would be reluctant to donate an organ," he
said.

Minister Sujudi said organ transplants involved advanced
technologies in medical care. In many cases, it becomes the last
hope to save lives. However, there are many constraints to be
overcome, he said.

In addition to the need of sophisticated equipment and
difficult procedures, limited donors for organ transplants is the
biggest problem, he said in his opening speech.

There is always a lack of supply compared to the rising demand
for organs. "Live donors are difficult to obtain and eventually,
the medical profession has to turn to organs obtained from the
dead," Sujudi said.

He expressed his understanding that Moslems cannot
automatically adopt such a medical development because they have
to examine whether the technology is in accordance with Islamic
teachings.

"There are several aspects -- such as ethical, moral,
socioeconomic and religious aspects -- that need to be
considered," Sujudi said.

On the question of donors, for instance, experts need to
determine whether to "prioritize the living over the dead" and
how to weigh manfaat (benefits) against mudharat (wastefulness).

Indonesian religious leaders (representing the five
officially-recognized religions, which are Islam, Catholicism,
Protestantism, Hinduism and Buddhism) agreed in May to endorse
the transplanting of kidneys taken from dead bodies in order to
increase the supply of badly needed kidneys.

The government, however, is still waiting for the religious
leaders to issue a fatwa (edict) on the subject. (31)