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)