O
Oscarthecat
Guest
Hello all-
Before I begin, I just want to clarify that I’m not debating the morality of organ transplantation-the Church is clear that this is a charitable act that we should all seriously consider. With that in mind…
I recently learned that a very common practice in organ transplantation involving “brain dead” patients is to keep the body alive artificially during the process of organ removal in order to keep the organs as viable as possible.
I called my local organ donation organization to ask about this, and they weren’t much help. They repeatedly said that that they do harvest live organs from brain dead patients, but would not specifically affirm or deny that this means that the donors’ bodies are kept alive artificially during the process of organ removal. Instead they would only say that the bodies are kept alive as long as possible in order to keep the organs as “fresh” as possible.
I have read several documents from the CDF and some papal letters on related topics, but I can’t find anything from the Magisterium that speaks to this particular issue.
It seems to me that this practice would be incompatible with the principle that we cannot hasten death, body or brain, of a human being. That is, our souls don’t reside in our brains because we are fully human in body and soul. Therefore, although the brain is not functioning, if the body is still alive, even by artificial means, we don’t know if the soul has left the body.
So my question is…Does the Church affirm the practice of removing organs from people who are brain dead while their bodies are being kept alive artificially? Or does the Church teach that the body, even a brain dead body, must be allowed to die first, before removing organs?
Thank you for any (name removed by moderator)ut or clarification you can offer.
Before I begin, I just want to clarify that I’m not debating the morality of organ transplantation-the Church is clear that this is a charitable act that we should all seriously consider. With that in mind…
I recently learned that a very common practice in organ transplantation involving “brain dead” patients is to keep the body alive artificially during the process of organ removal in order to keep the organs as viable as possible.
I called my local organ donation organization to ask about this, and they weren’t much help. They repeatedly said that that they do harvest live organs from brain dead patients, but would not specifically affirm or deny that this means that the donors’ bodies are kept alive artificially during the process of organ removal. Instead they would only say that the bodies are kept alive as long as possible in order to keep the organs as “fresh” as possible.
I have read several documents from the CDF and some papal letters on related topics, but I can’t find anything from the Magisterium that speaks to this particular issue.
It seems to me that this practice would be incompatible with the principle that we cannot hasten death, body or brain, of a human being. That is, our souls don’t reside in our brains because we are fully human in body and soul. Therefore, although the brain is not functioning, if the body is still alive, even by artificial means, we don’t know if the soul has left the body.
So my question is…Does the Church affirm the practice of removing organs from people who are brain dead while their bodies are being kept alive artificially? Or does the Church teach that the body, even a brain dead body, must be allowed to die first, before removing organs?
Thank you for any (name removed by moderator)ut or clarification you can offer.