Organ Donation in Halacha
A 20th-century halachic issue. Classical sources discuss only the underlying principles; the canonical contemporary responsa (Igrot Moshe, Tzitz Eliezer, Yabia Omer, Minchat Shlomo) are not yet ingested in full.
The halachic permissibility and ethics of organ donation. Tied closely to the brain-death debate (organ harvesting from cardiac-arrest patients faces additional viability constraints). R. Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe YD 2:174) permitted kidney donation from living donors and (with reservations) cadaveric donation. R. Ovadia Yosef (Yabia Omer 3 YD 23) takes a more cautious view. R. Shlomo Goren (Israeli Chief Rabbi 1972-83) was a leading advocate.
How it traveled
- Tzitz EliezerJerusalem · 1945modern_responsum
Key passages(8)
Igrot Moshe · Moshe Feinstein
In Igrot Moshe Yoreh De'ah 2:174, R. Moshe Feinstein addresses whether brain-stem death constitutes halachic death, arguing that cessation of all brain function, including the brain-stem, satisfies th
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Minchat Shlomo · Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Minchat Shlomo)
In Minchat Shlomo Tinyana 86, R. Shlomo Zalman Auerbach addresses brain-death by rejecting it as halachic death, maintaining that cessation of heartbeat and respiration—not neurological criteria—const
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Mishneh Halachot · Menashe Klein
In Mishneh Halachot 13:200, R. Menashe Klein addresses organ donation by examining the permissibility of harvesting organs from deceased donors, weighing the obligation to save life (pikuach nefesh) a
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Tzitz Eliezer · Eliezer Waldenberg
In Tzitz Eliezer 10:25 chap. 26, R. Eliezer Waldenberg permits organ donation from deceased donors under stringent conditions, requiring clear brain-death determination and proper halakhic safeguards,
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Tzitz Eliezer · Eliezer Waldenberg
In Tzitz Eliezer 14:84, R. Eliezer Waldenberg permits organ donation from deceased donors based on pikuach nefesh (saving a life), provided proper halachic determination of death is established, thoug
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Yabia Omer · Ovadia Yosef
In Yabia Omer Yoreh De'ah 3:20, R. Ovadia Yosef addresses organ donation by establishing stringent conditions for permissibility, requiring clear brain-death determination and prioritizing the preserv
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Yechaveh Daat · Ovadia Yosef
In Yechaveh Daat 3:84, R. Ovadia Yosef addresses organ donation by permitting it under specific conditions, emphasizing that saving a life (pikuach nefesh) overrides prohibitions against mutilating th
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Ben Ish Hai · Yosef Hayyim · 1894 CE
ה"מומיא" (גופת אדם חנוטה) שהוא בשר האדם, מותר לרפואה אפילו לחולה שאין בו סכנה, דעפרא בעלמא היא. עיין "ערך- השלחן" בשם הרדב"ז ז"ל. ואסור לעשות סגולה לחולה, לעשן עצמו בשן מת גוי, דאף על גב דריחא לאו מלת
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