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Blood Donation - Transfusion and Organ Donation
The following questions, hereunder, were posed by Moulana Nassir Khan Al-Qaderi, Durban, South Africa to Hazrat Allama Mufti Mohammad Akhtar Raza Khan Qadri Azhari. The Fatwa was given orally by Hazrat and recorded by Moulana Nassir Khan on paper at the Raza Academy, Durban, South Africa. It was during the year 1991.
QUESTIONS:
1. Can a Muslim donate blood?
2. Is blood transfusion permissible or not?
3. Is organ transplant permissible of not?
ANSWER:
All three are prohibited. One cannot donate blood and organs because these are
the Amaanah of Allah, therefore it is not permissible to donate any part of
one's body or (donate) the blood.
Even if one says that by transfusion and by transplant that one can save a life, but even so, these actions would not be permissible for Almighty Allah says:
(Sura Bani Israel: Verse 70)
This fazilat proves beyond a shadow of doubt that all the parts of the body as such is sacred, and within the concept of being sacred, one is not permitted to use any part of the human body as one uses parts of the animal body. It is also accepted that the human being and every part of the human body is sacred. It is because of this that, according to the Hadith Shareef, Almighty Allah's Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has cursed that woman who "joins her hair with another's hair and takes another's hair and joins it with hers."
This proves beyond a shadow of doubt that as the hair of a woman
cannot be used, so will be the other parts of the human body again proving the
sanctity of the human body and the utilisation of which is prohibited.
From this Hadith we clearly see that if one was permitted to use another
persons human parts, then Almighty Allah would not have cursed the user, but in
this Hadith one sees that the user of the human part is cursed. As to the
question of necessity, Shari'ah has given this a status as the following Hadith
clearly states "necessity makes that which is Haraam as permissible." However,
this circumstance is only applicable when there is no circumstances that
contradict this. There is a Hadith which states that, "Do not injure and do
not be open to injury."
Aside from being a Law of Shari'ah, this law is also one of the basic laws of
Islamic principles of Fiqh. The basic meaning of this Hadith is that it is
Haraam to injure and also Haraam to be injured.
In the issue of transplant and transfusion, in this instance, the above Hadith
of causing injury will contradict, for a person who involves himself in
transfusion and transplant is harming himself as well as others. An example of
this is found in "Shaami" where a person happily offers a piece of his own
flesh to another. But this would not be permitted because he will be causing
harm to himself.
[Mufti] Mohammad Akhtar Raza Khan Qadiri Azhari
Footnote:
A magazine, "The Health Summary", Vol. XV No. 3, March 1998, published
in London, explaining the dangers of blood transfusion, on page 9, says: "In
the year 1997, 94 hospitals reported a total of 169 instances of 'hazard',
almost half being where patients had received a blood component intended for
another patient. These 63 cases revealed 142 procedural failures, resulting in
one death and nine cases of major morbidity.
The participating hospitals reported that there were 12 deaths directly
attributed to all complications of blood transfusion."