חתימה על כרטיס תרומת איברים באוסטרליה

Dear Rabbis

I am writing to you regarding organ donation.

I have been approached by a Jewish man who is spearheading a campaign to make Australians more aware of the need to become organ donors. He has approached several different cultural groups and is also very keen to involve the Jewish community in this campaign. There is also much

support for this within the community. It would obviously be a great Kiddush Hashem if we could support this campaign. If the Jewish community cannot support this campaign we would need to be able to offer some good reasons for not doing so.

Organ donation in Australia is based on the establishment of brain death.

The following is a quote from the Australian Organ Donor Organisation:-

"…Organ and tissue donation for transplantation can only occur if an

individual dies under certain circumstances and their family or next of

kin has confirmed the decision to donate.

For organ donation to be considered, a number of tests are carried out by two senior doctors (who are not involved in transplantation) to establish whether brain death has occurred. Brain death occurs when the brain stops functioning with no possibility of recovery. Organ donation can only

occur following brain death in an Intensive Care Unit of a hospital….

…Tissue donation can also take place after circulatory death has occurred, which is when the heart has stopped beating. It is not necessary to die in a hospital to be considered as a tissue-only donor.

Removal of organs is no different to any other surgical operation and is performed by highly skilled surgeons. The donor's body is always treated with respect. The donation of organs and tissue does not alter the physical shape of the body…."

My questions to you are:-

1. Under what circumstances is organ-donation possible? (Is brain death ufficient?)

2. Is it permissible to register as a donor?

3. Is it permissible to actively promote a campaign of organ donation within the Jewish community?

I look forward to receiving your reply

Yours sincerely