May I arrange for my organs to be donated after my death?

Yes. You may decide during your lifetime that your organs are to be donated after your death, so that other people can go on living.

After death, the body no longer needs its organs. For another person, however, a single organ can mean the difference between life and death. The first verse above values saving one life as highly as saving all of mankind.

That is why a Muslim may decide during his lifetime that his organs are to be donated after his death. With a living donation, one has to weigh carefully whether the donor himself will be harmed. After death this concern no longer applies. It is then simply a matter of helping someone else.

The second verse above calls on us to help one another in righteousness and piety. Donating an organ is such help, often for people you will never meet. That is exactly what makes it a selfless gift.

Whoever decides to do this should record the wish clearly and talk it over with the family. Then, at a difficult moment, the relatives will know what was wanted.