Multi National Survey of the Advice Given to Muslim Kidney Graft Recipients by Muslim Nephrologists about Lifestyle and Religious Rituals with Potential Medical Risk

Abstract

Muslim renal transplant recipients often ask their physicians if performing certain lifestyles or religious obligations may be harmful to their health. Permissibility as advised by an expert Muslim physician is considered as being religiously accepted. A cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted enquiring what nephrologists would advise their transplant recipients to do, about some lifestyles and religious duties. Fifty-eight nephrologists responded to the survey. Of these, 77% routinely follow-up post-transplant patients; 34% were from Saudi Arabia, 18% from the USA, and 20% from Pakistan. Fifty-four percent of the respondents would let patients with stable graft function fast during Ramadan, while 20% would not recommend fasting at any time following transplantation. This response did not change much if the patient was diabetic although in these patients, not recommending fasting at any time increased to 32%. For kidney donors, fasting would be allowed by 58% of the respondents once the kidney function stabilizes. About 50% would let their patients perform Omrah or obligatory Hajj any time after 12 months following transplantation, and only about 3% would not recommend that at any time after transplantation. For nonobligatory Hajj, 37% and 22%, respectively, would allow. Sixty-one percent would delay the pregnancy in nullipara with stable renal function, and none of the nephrologists would deny the opportunity to pregnancy at any time. In multiparous transplant recipients, the respective frequencies would be 45% and 20%. To our knowledge, this the first study exploring the consensus among Muslim nephrologists regarding the advice they would give on performance of potentially risky lifestyles and religious rituals by Muslim posttransplant patients.