Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Aug;55(4):1198-205.
doi: 10.1007/s10943-016-0221-z.

A Response to the Legitimacy of Brain Death in Islam

Mohamed Y Rady  1 , Joseph L Verheijde  2
Affiliations
Review

A Response to the Legitimacy of Brain Death in Islam

Mohamed Y Rady et al. J Relig Health. 2016 Aug.

Abstract

Brain death is a novel construct of death for the procurement of transplantable organs. Many authoritative Islamic organizations and governments have endorsed brain death as true death for organ donation. Many commentators have reiterated the misconception that the Quranic text does not define death. We respond by clarifying: (1) the Quran does define death as biologic disintegration and clearly distinguishes it from the dying process, (2) brain death belongs scientifically within the spectrum of neurologic disorders of consciousness and should not be confused with death, and (3) religious and legal discord about brain death has grown in jurisdictions worldwide. We urge for public transparency and truthfulness about brain death and the accommodation and respect of religious objection to the determination of death by neurologic criteria.

Keywords: Brain death; Fatwas; Islam; Law; Moral code; Neuroscience; Organ donation; Quran; Religion.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Anderson TA, Bekker P, Vagefi P. Anesthetic considerations in organ procurement surgery: A narrative review. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia. 2015;62(5):529–539. doi: 10.1007/s12630-015-0345-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Beecher H, Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School to Examine the Definition of Brain-death A definition of irreversible coma. Special communication: report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School to Examine the Definition of Brain Death. The Journal of the American Medical Association. 1968;205:337–340. doi: 10.1001/jama.1968.03140320031009. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gatenby R, Frieden BR. The critical roles of information and nonequilibrium thermodynamics in evolution of living systems. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology. 2013;75(4):589–601. doi: 10.1007/s11538-013-9821-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Glazier AK, Heffernan KG, Rodrigue JR. A framework for conducting deceased donor research in the United States. Transplantation. 2015;99(11):2252–2257. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000000841. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Johnson LSM. The case for reasonable accommodation of conscientious objections to declarations of brain death. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. 2016 - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources