Transplanting human organs

Question

Question: A doctor told Zayd: if you put Bakr’s heart into your body you can survive, otherwise not. Bakr is close to death, and his relatives are also ready to give Bakr’s heart so that Zayd’s life may be saved. May Zayd’s life be saved by giving him Bakr’s heart or not? Or likewise, may other human organs of Bakr’s body be given to other people or not?

Answer

Bakr’s relatives are not his owners, neither in his lifetime nor after his death; they have no right to give any organ of Bakr to anyone, neither for a price nor as a gift. Therefore their consent has no standing in the Shari‘a. Rather, Bakr himself is not the owner of his organs either, such that he could cut off whatever organ he wishes and give it to whomever he wishes.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.