Organ Donation from an Islamic Perspective
On Friday 13th April, Muslim Women’s Council held an awareness raising seminar at Carlisle Business Centre. It was aimed primarily at BAME communities where the figures around organ donating are particularly astonishing coupled with related illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
The seminar was led by Consultants from Bradford Teaching Hospitals, and covered the current situation, displaying a clear lack of organs being donated amongst the group of people requiring them the most, members of the BAME community. Presentations were delivered to a packed hall covering the numerous religious opinions on organ donation acceptability as well as ethical and humane narratives by consultants, as well as organ donors and recipients.
Dr Sharif Al Ghazal, Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Bradford Teaching Hospitals, said
The current need for organ donors within the Muslim community is critical. The vast majority of scholars are in favour and view organ donation as an ongoing charity, a "Sadaqa Jariya" that keeps benefitting the recipient. And whilst the Muslim community is amongst the highest recipients of organs it has the lowest rates of donation and this is something that must change. More needs to be done to promote the need for organ donation in Islam and its Islamic reward.
Dr Habib Akbani, Consultant Nephrologist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals said
It was an honour and a pleasure to have spoken at the Muslim Women’s Council event to inform the community about the importance of organ donation within the Asian community. It’s important to understand our moral, ethical and religious obligations especially when the benefits are so profound. The same organ donor can save up to 8 lives and improve the lives of up to 50 people. The problem of organ donation is increasing by 5% each year, so the time to act is now. OPT IN.
Bana Gora, CEO of Muslim Women’s Council said:
The event and interest it has generated shows a clear need for more work to be done in this area in order to raise awareness.
There were 200 people in attendance at this event. This infographic is based on the evaluation forms that were completed at the end of the event.
