Can Muslims donate body organs to other Muslims or non-Muslims?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Donating organs is of two kinds:

A - An organ donated while the donor is still alive.

B - An organ donated during the donor's lifetime to be transferred after his death.

A- As for the first situation, donating any vital organ on which the life of a person depends is forbidden such as head, heart or the like. Donating such a part means killing oneself, which is forbidden in the Sharee'ah. The ruling is the same if the transferred organ causes any inactivity in the donor's body or prevents him from performing any obligation; e.g., donating hands or legs, which makes one handicapped; consequently, one cannot earn for himself and cannot fulfill his obligations. It is also not permissible to donate any organ that could cause deformity. Likewise, giving an organ while alive such as a hand or cornea of an eye to someone who lacks both hands or eyes is not permissible since the donor faces the same deformity after donating them.

Moreover, we believe, and it is largely experienced, that those who do not have hands or eyes can live a happy life. So, there is no compulsion that justifies donating such organs. There is a basic rule in the Sharee’ah that reads: 'Any harm is not removed by causing the same harm'. Also, as a general rule, a human body should be respected. Deforming a human body or degrading it is not permissible. Allah Says (what means): {And We have certainly honored the children of Adam.} [Quran 17: 70]

Besides, the Prophet said: “Everything belonging to a Muslim is unlawful for another Muslim; his blood, his honor and his property.” [Muslim]

As for the organ that does not cause any harm to the donor and there is benefit in transferring it, then it is permissible, Allah willing, since it is kindness or favor to others, relieving one from hardship and cooperating in goodness.

B – With regard to transferring an organ after the death of a person, we believe that it is permissible for many benefits observed by the Sharee'ah, as it always gives priority to the living people over the dead. In this case, a living person gets many benefits such as protecting one's life by receiving an organ on which his life is dependent or being cured from a chronic problem.

However, there are also other opinions, but we give priority to this opinion since it includes many benefits established by the Sharee'ah that could be achieved by this practice.

Know that donating in both mentioned cases is restricted only to the one whose life is respected in the Sharee’ah; i.e., either a Muslim or a Thimmi (a non-Muslim living under the protection of an Islamic government) unlike the belligerent non-Muslim who is at war with Muslims), who does not deserve such a favor.

For more benefit on blood donation, please refer to Fataawa 82197, 87533, 129802, 84292 and 83172.

For more benefit on organ donation, please refer to Fataawa 86647, 85514 and 323434.

Allah knows best.