תרומת איברים תמורת תשלום

Each case is unique, therefore a specific decision can only be made after consulting with a qualified rabbi who knows you personally.

A general description of Jewish law’s opinion on organ donation from a living donor can be found in the following responsa from the late Rabbi Shaul Israeli:

“We have a general principle that any duty imposed by the Torah to do something for someone else must be done without any payment (Bekhorot 29a). For this reason, one who finds and restores lost property, regardless of how much trouble is involved in restoring it, may not take payment for his trouble, except where this necessitates his abandoning other work in which he is engaged, in which case he may receive compensation for loss of earnings (Bava Metsia 30b). It follows that payment may not be received for anything done to rescue another from death or even from illness, which is defined as returning “loss of [safety of] body” (Sanhedrin 73a).

“We have explained that donating an organ or tissue for a transplant is not an obligation, and therefore the donor may take payment.

“The halakha defines five types of payment that can be claimed as a result of injury by another: damage, pain, medical (including surgical) fees, unemployment benefit, and humiliation, and there is a set method for calculating the amount of the claim (Maimonides, Laws of Assault and Battery, chapter 1; also Shulhan Arukh, Hoshen Mishpat 420).

“The halakha further states that this duty of payment applies even when the injured party allows the other one to injure him, whether by a bruise or by the loss or destruction of an organ. Even if he explicitly tells him that he will be exempt from payment, there is no valid exemption since in law a person cannot waive his rights to an organ or parts of his body (Bava Qama 93a, Maimonides 5:11, Hoshen Mishpat 421:12).

“There is therefore no reason whatsoever to ban one who donates a part of his body from requesting and receiving payment for this. The amount of payment can be stipulated in advance and agreed between the donor and a member of the family of the recipient of the transplant (Hoshen Mishpat 264:7, with comments of Rama and the Gaon of Vilna, and Netivot ha-Mishpat §8).

“The same applies to donation of blood, even when it is required to save life, since there is no obligation involved. (A kidney is an organ which will not regenerate, but even giving blood, which does not involve a risk, merely discomfort for a period and which regenerates, is not obligatory to save a person’s life, since nothing that was previously his is being restored to the person in danger. It appears from the words of Radbaz that there is no legal obligation where the rescuer’s body is affected.)

“Such payment, provided that it is within reasonable limits, need not be seen as unethical, since the donor undergoes physical and at times mental suffering, and as stated a person does not waive his rights to his organs (Bava Qama 93a).

“At the same time, it must be pointed out that only the donor himself is allowed to receive payment for his donation. Any intermediary acting between the donor and the family of the recipient, whether an individual or an organization that undertakes to deal with the matter, must act strictly within the halakha, which regards this is as trouble that everyone is obliged to take, “restoring the [safe] body” to its owner. They are therefore forbidden to accept any payment other than compensation for abandoning other work, as explained above regarding restoring lost property. This should certainly be embodied in statutory law, to save us from the danger of a trade in human organs developing.”

A decision cannot be made based on a superficial reading of the above responsa. I would like to emphasize what I stated above, that consultation with a qualified rabbi is absolutely necessary. In summary, I would also like to add five principles:

1. If the donation will lead to a life-threatening situation for the donor, the donation of the organ is strictly forbidden.

2. When donation is permitted, there is no halakhic prohibition against receiving compensation for donated organ.

3. Sale of an organ as a result of desperate financial distress is likely to create a situation of coercion without full value being paid. Such a situation lacks “complete consent” and the sale is therefore void.

4. A donor’s incomplete understanding of the medical consequences of the removal of an organ is likely to invalidate the sale.

5. In light of the differences in various cases, the donation of organs for payment should be regulated, and requires fully informed prior consent. This should eliminate exploitation on account of uninformed consent.

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