Articles

Below you will find articles by rabbis, doctors and scholars about the halachic and medical issues surrounding brain-stem death and organ donation. Some articles are pro organ donation and some are con. We believe by showing all positions, we can allow the public to judge for themselves where they stand on these issues.

271. Title: Heart and Liver Donation
     

     Author: Bar Ilan, Rabbi Naphtali
     Publication: ASSIA Book, Vol. 7, pages 177-187
     Year: ~~
     Download: Hebrew

     HOD Comments:

      

272. Title: Moment of Death
     

     Author: Shachter, Rabbi Herschel
     Publication: ASSIA Book, Vol. 7, pages 188-206
     Year: 1993~~
     Download: Hebrew

     HOD Comments:

      

273. Title: Overview of Organ Transplantion
     

     Author: Durst, Prof. Aryeh
     Publication: The First International Colloquium on Medicine, Ethics & Halacha
     Year: 1993~~
     Download: Hebrew

     HOD Comments:

      

274. Title: Prohibition of Murder
     

     Author: Nevenzahl, Rabbi Avigdor
     Publication: ASSIA Book, Vol. V, page 259
     Year: 1986
     Download: Hebrew

     HOD Comments:
     Click here to see the summary of this article.~~

      

275. Title: Legal Significance of Ruling of the Chief Rabbinate on Heart Transplants
     

     Author: Halperin, Rabbi Mordechai
     Publication: ASSIA Book, Vol. 7, page 125
     Year: 1993~~
     Download: Hebrew

     HOD Comments:

      

276. Title: Organ Transplants from Living Donors
     

     Author: Halperin, Rabbi Mordechai
     Publication: ASSIA Journal of Medicine, Ethics & Halacha, Vol. II, No.1
     Year: 1991, January~~
     Download: English

     HOD Comments:

      

277. Title: Gosses, Responsa – Hebrew
     

     Author: Auerbach, R. Shlomo Zalman, as discussed by R. Leizersohn, R. Vozber
     Publication: Second Intenational Conference on Medicine, Ethics & Halacha
     Year: 1996
     Download: Hebrew

     HOD Comments:
     ~~

      

278. Title: Living Will, The
     

     Author: Ifrah, Rabbi A. Jeff
     Publication: Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society/XXIV, The
     Year: 1992, Fall / Succoth 5753
     Download: English

     HOD Comments:
     The article deals with the halachic and ethical implications of living wills and health-care proxies.  Both living wills and health-care proxies were created in order to allow some terminally-ill patients the opportunity to refuse certain kinds of medical treatments.  Depending on the state, one, the other, or both, may be available.  A living will gives a specific list of treatments that the patient does or does not want, while a health-care proxy gives broader guidelines as to the patient’s wishes and designates a specific person to make health care decisions.  The article addresses how religious ethicists have responded to these laws, and in particular the responses of the RCA and the Agudah.  The article summarizes some of the key issues in the halachic debate about brain-death as well. The article concludes by dealing with some of the halachic issues posed to doctors by advanced directive legislation.~~

      

279. Title: Laws Concerning a Gosses, The
     

     Author: Abraham, Dr. Abraham S.
     Publication: Nishmat Avraham/ VII / Yoreh Deah/ Page 300/ Siman 339
     Year: Unknown
     Download: English

     HOD Comments:
     This lengthy commentary on the section of Shulchan Aruch deals with Goseis (one whose death is immanent).  In it, he includes an extensive discussion on the issue of brain-death.  He expresses a great deal of skepticism as to whether brain-death should be considered a sufficient criterion to establish halachic death in a patient whose heart is still beating.  He also expresses skepticism in the ability of the current medical criterion to positively diagnose brain-death, and even if it could, he expresses a lack of trust in physicians to always carry out the required tests.He continues by summarizing the opinions of major poskim on the issue of brain-death.  He mentions Rabbi Tendler and the Chief Rabbinate’s ruling that one may transplant organs on the basis of the brain-death criteria, and Rabbis Eliashiv and Waldenberg who rejected it.  He discusses at length the opinion of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, disputing reports that he had changed his opinion and eventually come to accept brain-death.  With regard to the position of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, while his earlier responsa are against organ transplants, his later responsa do seem to endorse the use of brain-death criteria.  However, the Nishmat Avraham notes that some of these responsa seem to be based on outdated medical knowledge, and suggests that in light of some recent findings, Rabbi Feinstein may have changed his mind and opposed the use of brain-death.  Ultimately, the Nishmat Avraham concludes that the consensus of most major poskim is not to rely on brain-death criteria halachically for organ transplants.~~

      

280. Title: Time of Death
     

     Author: Bleich, Rabbi J. David
     Publication: Judaism and Healing
     Year: 2002
     Download: English

     HOD Comments:
     KTAV Publishing House

      

281. Title: Chronic Vegetative Patient: A Torah Perspective, The
     

     Author: Friedman, Dr. Fred
     Publication: Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society/XXVI, The
     Year: 1993, Fall / Succoth 5754
     Download: English

     HOD Comments:
     The author discusses the halachic status of a patient in a chronic vegetative state (deep coma) and what obligations would exist to artificially extend the life of the patient when there is no chance of recovery.  This discussion is not relevant to the discussion about brain-death because the comatose patient is not, by any measure, brain-dead. A second question the article looks at is whether this patient should be considered a goseis and the halachic ramifications of this designation.  The Talmud defines a goseis as someone whose death is inevitably in less than three days.  On the one hand, this patient can live considerably longer than three days.  On the other hand, without modern medical technology, they would certainly die in less than three days.  Rabbi Moshe Feinstein rules that they should be considered a goseis while some others disagree. ~~

      

282. Title: Skin Transplants for Burn Victims
     

     Author: Yisraeli, Rabbi Shaul
     Publication: Cross Roads: Halacha and the Modern World; Page 137
     Year: Unknown
     Download: English

     HOD Comments:
     Rav Yisraeli addresses the permissibility of donating skin from a dead body for burn victims.  The cases are usually life-threatening, so this would override the prohibition of deriving benefit from a dead body.  However, the Noda Biyehuda ruled that one may only violate a Torah prohibition to save a life if you have a specific patient in front of you whom you are saving.  However, in order to have sufficient skin, hospitals need to maintain a skin bank, so at the time they are collecting the skin from the dead body, there is no specific patient in mind.  Furthermore, once the skin is in the skin bank, there is a small chance that it will be used for purely cosmetic and not life-saving purposes.  Based on these considerations, we cannot permit skin donations on the basis of saving a life.  Rav Yisraeli goes on to argue that skin donations are, in fact, fundamentally permitted even if no life was being saved, so long as the deceased gave consent while they were still alive.Finally, Rav Yisraeli addresses the question of whether skin requires burial.  He demonstrates from various sources that biblically only an intact majority of a corpse requires burial.  There may be a rabbinic requirement but that too would be waived for medical needs.  Rav Yisraeli therefore concludes that one may indeed donate skin to a skin bank with the prior consent of the patient.~~

      

283. Title: For Whom May Sabbath Laws be Set Aside
     

     Author: Abraham, Dr. Abraham S.
     Publication: Nishmat Avraham/Vol. I/ Orach Chaim/ Page 216/ Siman 329
     Year: Unknown
     Download: English

     HOD Comments:
     The Nishmat Avraham discusses two major issues in the course of his commentary on the section of Shulchan Aruch dealing with when we may violate Shabbat to save a life.  The first deals with whether one is permitted or required to endanger one’s own life to save another life.  This is relevant to someone who wants to be a living kidney donor, since there is some risk to the donor in the process.The second issue is related to the definition of death.  The Shulchan Aruch rules that if you see someone is not breathing, you can no longer violate Shabbat to save their life.  Many have taken this as an indication that halacha defines life and death by the presence or lack of breathing.  The Nishmat Avraham quotes a personal conversation with Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach that this halacha is not actually relevant to the definition of death.  In those days, if someone was not breathing, they had no way to save their life, or even extend their life for a little bit, so one would not be allowed to violate Shabbat to save them.  Nowadays, when we have the capability to resuscitate a person who has stopped breathing, certainly the halacha would permit violating the Shabbat to save them.~~

      

284. Title: Prohibition of Tattooing, The
     

     Author: Abraham, Dr. Abraham S.
     Publication: Nishmat Avraham/ Vol.III /Yoreh Deah/ Page 91/ Siman 180
     Year: Unknown
     Download: English

     HOD Comments:
     Two articles from the Nishmat Avraham are included here.  The first is a short piece on the halachot of tattooing and how that would relate to doctors writing information on their hands.  The second article is a lengthy commentary on the section of Shulchan Aruch dealing with Goseis (one whose death is immanent).  In it, he includes an extensive discussion on the issue of brain-death.  He expresses a great deal of skepticism as to whether brain-death should be considered a sufficient criterion to establish halachic death in a patient whose heart is still beating.  He also expresses skepticism in the ability of the current medical criterion to positively diagnose brain-death, and even if it could, he expresses a lack of trust in physicians to always carry out the required tests.He continues by summarizing the opinions of major poskim on the issue of brain-death.  He mentions Rabbi Tendler and the Chief Rabbinate’s ruling that one may transplant organs on the basis of the brain-death criteria, and Rabbis Eliashiv and Waldenberg who rejected it.  He discusses at length the opinion of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, disputing reports that he had changed his opinion and eventually come to accept brain-death.  With regard to the position of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, while his earlier responsa are against organ transplants, his later responsa do seem to endorse the use of brain-death criteria.  However, the Nishmat Avraham notes that some of these responsa seem to be based on outdated medical knowledge, and suggests that in light of some recent findings, Rabbi Feinstein may have changed his mind and opposed the use of brain-death.  Ultimately, the Nishmat Avraham concludes that the consensus of most major poskim is not to rely on brain-death criteria halachically for organ transplants.~~

      

285. Title: Organ Transplantation
     

     Author: Waldenberg, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda
     Publication: Reponsum Tzitz Eliezer 13:91
     Year: 1977
     Download: Hebrew

     HOD Comments:
     Click here to see the summary of this article.~~