Religious Views on Organ Donation - Essay Example

The issue of organ transplant has been under scrutiny for some time now. Different parties who play a significant part in organ transfer and transplantation including the victim, their families, social constructs, religion and others have a different take on the issue. When people are sick or terminally ill, aspects of culture, traditions, and religion become a significant aspect, especially in a hospital point of view (Cheung & Wolbring, 2017). It is during these difficult times when the spiritual care services play an important role either in the healing process or in the treatment that the hospital recommends. Precisely, when the medical recommendation is a tissue or an organ transplant, religious views have a significant effect on the process, and it is essential to find out what their take is.

Beliefs on organ donations are very diverse, based on the strength of the individuals faith. By looking at the major religions and denominations worldwide helps to determine if donating is under-recognized, in good faith, or underdeveloped in practice. Different denominations and doctrines have exhibited different stands on organ transplant, and therefore, various sects and religions must be looked into and discuss what their take on the same issues (Cheung & Wolbring, 2017). In the bid to reveal the religious takes on the topic, African Methodist Episcopal, Amish, Assembly of God, Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, and Christianity among other major Christian faiths will gain comprehension.

Islam faith holds that transplantation of organs or body tissues is a good thing. Donations of organs from living donors or by a cadaveric donor are not only legal in Islam faith, but it is also encouraged (Uskun & Ozturk, 2012). Moreover, Islamic religion stipulates that organ donation should gain consideration as an act of expressing a believer's altruism. The Islamic faith also encourages noble qualities which support organs transfer (Uskun & Ozturk, 2012). Organ donation mirrors some of the principal virtues that a Muslim must possess: charity, duty, generosity, cooperation, etc. (Uskun & Ozturk, 2012). Further, the Islamic Code of Medical Ethics provides that human life is sacred and it the responsibility of everyone to preserve it at all costs. The Shariah permits the removal of a body organ from one person to another in the bid to save a life, given that the process of transplant does not in any way violate the dignity of the person from which the organ is removed (Hurst, 2016). It is a fundamental aim of the Islamic religion, Muslims believe that saving a life is a top priority and that Allah generously rewards those who preserve it.

Catholicism and indeed Christianity have a perception that an organ donation is an act of generosity, charity, and expression of true love (Capaldi, 2000). As such, organ transplants and donations are legally accepted as far Catholicism and Christianity at large are concerned. Father Leroy Wieckowski, who was the Director in the Office of Health Affairs in the Chicago Archdiocese, stipulated that they encouraged the donation as an act that depicted charity and that it showed that families could find comfort from the actions of others as well. In the year 2014, Pope Francis explained how organ transplant demonstrated the testimony of love for the neighbors (Capaldi, 2000). It was when he had met the committee that deals with organ transplant in Europe. The Catholic Church in England and Wales have all pledged support for both blood and organ transplant as their part in community participation (Capaldi, 2000). Pope John Paul II also showed significant support for the process of organ donation and transplantation by asserting that the Catholic Church would be in the forefront to promote the act because there was a need for Christians to challenge their generosity and their fraternal love.

As far as Hinduism is concerned, their religion does not prohibit them from donating organs. For Hindus, giving an organ is a personal decision. Hindu mythology contains tales that stipulate that human body parts are used to benefit others and the society (National Kidney Center, 2017). No part of the Hindu religion indicates that human body parts, whether dead or alive cannot be used to help others in need of them. One perception by the Swamis made them not to accept organ transplant because they perceived that whenever one donates an eye in this life, then they would be blind in the next. Others hold that if anyone decided to give an organ willingly, then there is nothing wrong it and that it is not correct to assert that if one donated their eyes in the present life, they would be blind in the next birth. Jehovahs Witnesses similarly argue that organ donation is an individual decision since the bible does not have direct guidelines on the transfer of body parts from one person to another (National Kidney Center, 2017). In their beliefs, they were opposed to the process of organ donation due to their stance on blood transfusion, for which they faced opposition.

Buddhism and Assembly of God believe that the question of organ donation is an individual choice to make (Dipananda, 2017). The Assembly of God faithful asserts that one's understanding of resurrection doctrine should dictate their views on the organ transplant. They believe that the mortal bodies they have now are not relevant to them, from the scripture. They recognize that donation of organs to recipients give them an opportunity to live more, thus saving a life. However, they also hold that failure to donate an organ does not make them sinful (Dipananda, 2017). Buddhists, on the other hand, hold that organ transfer is an individual decision, but they place a high emphasis on actions of compassion. They honor people who offer organs for saving lives and for further medical studies, but there are no injunctions that are pro or against organ donation (Price, 2008). It is part of their religion that relieving pain is vital and organ donation would be seen as an act of generosity and reducing pain.

Additionally, the diverse religions give an elementary setting concerning the issue of the organ transplant and donation. All the faiths settle on the notion that organ donation is based on personal decisions. By comparison, Buddhism majors the teaching of no-self. It implies that attachment to the ideology of self is an illusion which may render suffering. Thus, pain is a consequence of personal volitions of actions which presupposes the existence of the next life dependent on the karma of the present livelihood. According to Christianity, it delivers on the love for the human being dependent on the details of the Bible with the teachings of God's love to the people. On the other hand, Islam does not give clarity to the particulars of love towards each other and eternity. The Quran does not provide any definitions of Allah's devotion to the people. Significantly, Hinduism entails varying details in the context of their activities. It believes in reincarnation which gives the value of life to the involved individual since in afterlife it involves extinction of personality.

Discussion and Conclusion

From the provisions of the study, it is clear that organ transplant and donation is not an issue that is new to religion and that it is an issue that is well covered. Many faiths and denominations have a clear stance on the issue while others have left the decision on the individual level. However, other religions do not have a particular rake on the subject. Other faiths maintain that the transfer of organs has conditions. The Greek Orthodox faithful, for instance, hold that the removal of organs depends on the health of the donor and the need of the recipient. It implies that if the health of the donor is at risk, then it is not advisable to donate an organ and that if the need of the recipient is not urgent, then it would not be necessary to transfer organs. Therefore, organ donation gains recognition in religion, but the religious beliefs on the same are very diverse and may be down to an individual's faith. Looking at different denominations has given us an insight into how various these views are.

References

Capaldi, N. (2000). A Catholic Perspective on Organ Sales. Christian Bioethics, 6(2), 139-151. http://dx.doi.org/10.1076/1380-3603(200008)6:2;1-7;ft139Cheung, J., & Wolbring, G. (2017). Staffs Views from One Canadian Organ Procurement Organization on Organ Donation and Organ Transplant Technologies: a Content Analysis. Nanoethics, 11(2), 187-202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11569-017-0292-7Dipananda, B. (2017). A Buddhist Perspective on Organ Donation. Buddhistdoor Global. Retrieved from https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/a-buddhist-perspective-on-organ-donationHurst, D. (2016). Approaching Organ Transplant in Islam from a Multidimensional Framework. Online Journal Of Health Ethics, 12(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.18785/ojhe.1202.08Price, D. (2008). Conditional Organ Donation???A View of the Ethicist. Transplantation, 85(11), 1540-1541. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/tp.0b013e318172d9c3Religion and Organ Donation. (2017). National Kidney Foundation. Retrieved 25 December 2017, from https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/religion-organ-donationUskun, E., & Ozturk, M. (2012). Attitudes of Islamic religious officials toward organ transplantand donation. Clinical Transplantation, 27(1), E37-E41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ctr.12058