Israel's New Method To Boost Organ Donation Meets Haredi Opposition

The new law is the first of its kind in the world, and international medical authorities are eager to see if it boosts organ supply. Haredim, however, oppose it.

Israel Tries A New Method To Boost Donation Of Organs
ARON HELLER • AP

JERUSALEM — Israel is launching a potentially trailblazing experiment in organ donation: Sign a donor card, and you and your family move up in line for a transplant if one is needed.

The new law is the first of its kind in the world, and international medical authorities are eager to see if it boosts organ supply. But it has also raised resistance from within Israel's ultra-orthodox Jewish minority.

These opponents say it discriminates against them because their religious convictions forbid the donation of their organs, and while they are unlikely to get the law reversed, they have the political clout to slow its implementation.

Only 10 percent of Israeli adults hold donor cards, compared with more than 30 percent in most Western countries.

The actual rate of families donating a deceased's organs is 45 percent, but in other countries it rises to 70 percent, according to Jacob Lavee, director of the heart-transplant unit at Israel's Sheba Medical Center.

Religious considerations

The low rate of organ donation is thought to be partly driven by religious considerations. Most rabbis have no problem with transplants to save lives; their objection is to profiting from or needlessly mutilating cadavers.

But 99-year-old Rabbi Yosef Sholom Elyashiv takes a different view, and he is one of ultra-orthodox Jewry's most influential leaders, claiming 100,000 followers among Israel's 6 million Jews. Elyashiv forbids organ donation before cardiac death, but allows his followers to receive lifesaving donations.

Lavee, the doctor who helped draft the law, hopes that a broader pool of organs will ultimately benefit everyone, but he acknowledges that one of his primary motivations is "to prevent free riders."

Organ shortages

"This is the first time that a non-medical criterion has been established in organ allocation," he said. "It will rectify the unfairness of the situation where people who are unwilling to donate wait in the same line as those who are willing."

The measure opens a new dimension in the worldwide quest to overcome organ shortages. One solution — a legalized organ market — is ethically fraught. Another is called "presumed consent," where whoever doesn't opt out is considered a donor.

Spain, France, Austria and Belgium have adopted the latter model and rank among the top European nations in percentage of deceased donations, according to a U.N. study. But experts here say "presumed consent" would have been much trickier to get through the Israeli Parliament.

Writing in the December issue of The Lancet, the British medical journal, Dr. Paolo Bruzzone of Sapienza University in Rome said the Israeli initiative made more sense. "Certainly, giving holders of donor cards priority in organ allocation sounds more acceptable than the introduction of organ conscription or financial incentives for organ donation," he wrote.

Israel's parliament passed its far more comprehensive legislation in 2008 by a wide margin, including votes from Shas, the mainstream ultra-orthodox party, and it is to take effect after a huge campaign to explain the new regulations and their complicated point-based system to the public.

But Israel's unwieldy system of coalition government makes implementation uncertain. One of its members is an ultra-orthodox party made up of Elyashiv's followers. Among its lawmakers is Yaakov Litzman, who happens to be the deputy health minister (the top post is vacant).

Another is Moshe Gafni, who said the law is "antidemocratic."

"If I can't contribute organs because of my religious beliefs, the state shouldn't be allowed to harm me," he told the AP.

Definition of death

The debate derives from Judaism's tricky definition of death.

Most leading Orthodox rabbis — as well as Israeli law — agree that a person dies when his brainstem stops functioning. A minority opinion, endorsed by Elyashiv, holds that as long as a person's heart beats he or she is alive and therefore the organs cannot be harvested.

Donation in Israel after cardiac death is rare and only done in special circumstances.

Robby Berman, founder and director of the Halachic Organ Donor Society, a Jewish organization based in New York, said ultra-orthodox Jews can't have it both ways.

"Every Jew has a right to be against an organ donation, but then you can't come and say 'give me an organ.' "

Organ Donation Index.

Comments

[Bill]

Parasites

[who knows?]

Gafni is protesting that this law is "undemocratic". Nice try. He sounds like an islamist, who try to use democracy (which they want to abolish as soon as they get power) to further their goals.

The true question is whether or not this new law is FAIR. It clearly is.

60 year free ride by haredim has to come to a halt before Israel and Jewish nation are destroyed by this parasitical idelogy.

[who knows?]

Haredim are community is certainly not a community of givers. As this group of getters expands they will need more resources and the social support system will collapse, unless the laws are adopted to weed out professional parasites.

[Chayim]

The leading Rabbis have forbidden taking a heart from a brain dead person.Its murder.These left wing modern orthodox ignoramuses are seeking to tear Jewish values to the core. A kidney transplant is ok as it does not cause the giver to die. The modern orthodox are so politically correct that they are open to all the evils of the secular world.They support Hitlers idea of evolution ,becoming moe excepting of homosexual criminals, advocating feminism and destrying the family unit. Shame on these knitted kipah birdbrains.
CHAREIDIM MOVING AHEAD

[Jeff Eyges]

Parasites.

I was going to say the same thing - although was going to place "F&cking" before it.

[harold]

I think some creative thinking is in order. I would say that if someone can’t sign the donor card for religious reasons then something along the line of donating blood every X months or maybe if one volunteers X days a year – you get my drift. This way you are showing that you are interested in helping and should be rewarded. This is called accommodating.

[who knows?]

Harold, they are not looking for accomodation, they are looking for a free ride.

Note that they did not propose anything at all. They simply are screaming "undemocratic!". Their screams are getting even more evil when you consider that every every Ultra Ortho party is actually opposed to democracy and set rabbinicaly run totalitarian society as their goal.

[Bill]

"This is called accommodating." - Harold

No it's not. it's called being a sucker.

[Dr. Dave]

.These left wing modern orthodox ignoramuses are seeking to tear Jewish values to the core. A kidney transplant is ok as it does not cause the giver to die.

I agree.

And since Hermaphrodites by definition have a set of extra organs whose donation will not cause the giver to die, they can donate those organs to chareidim who lack them!!
HERMAPHRODITES MOVING AHEAD

[Jay]

Harold, that's a very good thought on your part. I would expand it, however, to include bone marrow donation as well as kidney donation (assuming the potential donor is healthy). If someone is giving bone marrow and a kidney, there's no reason they shouldn't be moved up on the list.

[Jay]

Hermaphrodites don't have an extra set of organs. They have undifferentiated organs. The correct term is: intersexed.

[soso]

Before you do this, I think it is preferrable to switch the default status from "non-donor" to "donor", as several European countries did. This would imply, that you have to sign a non-donor card if you do not want to donate organs...

I did not like this procedure so much because there is a risk that non-donors could be penalised. But if you want to penalise the non-donors anyway, it makes more sense to switch the default status to donor.

[harold]

I would expand it, however, to include bone marrow donation as well as kidney donation (assuming the potential donor is healthy). If someone is giving bone marrow and a kidney, there's no reason they shouldn't be moved up on the list.

Good thinking!

[Dr. Dave]

Jake you are mistaken.

Definition of Hermaphrodite:

Main Entry: her·maph·ro·dite
Pronunciation: \(ˌ)hər-ˈma-frə-ˌdīt\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English hermofrodite, from Latin hermaphroditus, from Greek hermaphroditos, from Hermaphroditos
Date: 14th century
1 : an animal or plant having both male and female reproductive organs
2 : something that is a combination of diverse element

Definition of intersexuality:

Main Entry: in·ter·sex·u·al·i·ty
Pronunciation: \-ˌsek-shə-ˈwal-ət-ē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural in·ter·sex·u·al·i·ties
: the condition (as that occurring in congenital adrenal hyperplasia, androgen insensitivity syndrome, or gonadal dysgenesis) of either having both male and female gonadal tissue in one individual or of having the gonads of one sex and external genitalia that is of the other sex or is ambiguous

But in 8 years there will be no confusion!HERMAPHRODITE POWER MOVING AHEAD

[WoolSilkCotton]

I am donating my prostate gland to the haredi community.

MAKING NUMBER ONE IS NUMBER ONE.

[seymour]

the law is just,

it just says donors move up the list, it does not say non donors do not get it.

A compromise could be on your donor card, it asks, do you want you organ to go to a non donor participant. If the person says no, then simply Cherdiem will not get that organ under any circumstances.

Hey it is my F**king body parts

[seymour]

I got this from a poster on VIn

LifeSharers, is a group that tries to give organ donors a little better chance than a non donor

[joe]

I confused how someone could have the conviction that it is wrong to donate but still okay to accept organs that were wrongly donated by someone else. It's not consistent.

[Jeff Eyges]

It's not consistent.

Congratulations, Joe. You've passed Hareidi 101.

[harold]

Harold, they are not looking for accomodation, they are looking for a free ride.

Note that they did not propose anything at all.

This is called a knee-jerk reaction. I once saw an expression that goes like "Put brain in gear before putting mouth in motion". In this case people on both sides did not think this through. No problem here if one REALLY wants to fix this. Anyway no matter on what side of the religious
fence one sits on there will not be a whole lot of takers IMHO, but any increase wll be welcome.

[Bill]

Here is how the Hareidim will beat the legislation if it passes:

They will get a hayter (halachic dispensation) to sign up as a "donor" only if and after their own organs go into failure.

Enjoy!

[Isa]

Very simple:

Sign up as a donor at 21 get high spot 'in the line' when it comes to that.
If sign up at e.g. age 60
then your spot 'in the line' is waaay down
Don't sign up all... get told "DIE Parasite!"

[R]

Isa, why should a 60 year old and their family have less of a chance at getting an organ than someone who is 21?

[Bill]

One's place on the list should be determined by how long one waits, from the passage of the law, until one decides become a doner.

Anyone who signs up within a year of passage of the law or reaching adulthood, whichever comes last, should be on equal footing with everyone else. Anyone who waits past that time will be deprioritized according to how long they delayed registering.

Those who don't register at all should be placed at the bottom of the list.

[jay]

"Dr." Dave, hermaphrodite is a term that predates intersexual. It was based on the mistaken belief that those people do in fact have 2 sets of gonads or organs. That was a mistaken assumption and has been replaced in clinical practice with the term "intersexual"

[seymour]

It's not consistent.

Congratulations, Joe. You've passed Hareidi 101.

Posted by: Jeff Eyges | March 14, 2010 at 12:29 PM

Damn you beat me too it.

[Isa]

R
If someone signs up at age 21, means there is a great chance that [e.g.] if they die in an automobile accident then they will likely give life to other people.
At age 60, some organs are worn out heart, pancreas etc
However if there is a national sign up day, then all that sign up should be given an equal opportunity for transplant.
Actually it doesn't work that way but you get the drift

[Nigritude Ultramarine]

Someone needs to read that kindergarten classic, The Little Red Hen. The moral of the story is that those who show no will to contribute to an end product do not deserve to enjoy the end product.

[Chayim]

Once we CHAREIDIM take over in Israel in 8 years from now we will import organs from India,China,etc and will pay them for it.There will be no shortage. The secular bafoons that run Israel have goyisha kops because they eat pork and lobsters. People like Rabin ate dog flesh in Japan so this is the brainless pygmies that are the secular elite controlling the Israeli media,army,and the government. We can buy dead bodys for 25 bucks if we need to experiment scientificly.There is no need to cut up Jewish bodies. Haiti will give you 250 thousand bodies and pay you to take them. CHAREIDI ISRAEL WILL BE NUMBER ONE

[dena]

Ask a Charadi: If you needed an organ and there was one available for you would you refuse it on grounds of religion? I bet not!!! Then why not give an organ? There will be someone benefiting from the gift of organ donation. If you wouldn't refuse an organ then you should be willing to donate an organ.

[Chayim]

No one said organ donating was a problem.It depends if it is a life treathening organ like the heart. Th modern orthodox bums have stated its ok but the gedolei Rabbonim all said its not ok. Many chareidim have given kidneys to others but to sighn a donor card is forbidden in Jewish law. And does modern orthodox heretics who make their own laws and march in the Israeli parade are criminals and murderers. BRAIN DEAD IS NOT CONSIDERED DEAD IN JUDAISM.

[Dr. Dave]

BRAIN DEAD IS NOT CONSIDERED DEAD IN JUDAISM.

Which explains Chaim and many other chareidim.

HERMAPHRODITE ISRAEL WILL BE NUMBER ONE

[joe]

BRAIN DEAD IS NOT CONSIDERED DEAD IN JUDAISM.

I completely respect this opinion. But how could you undergo a heart transplant if you believed that the donor was killed for the organ?

[who knows?]

Another part of Haredi hypocricy is the question - who you can donate your non life threatening organs (like kidneys) to. If my memory serves me right then the Haredi (not Jewish) answer is to a Jew only. However, according to the same haredi gadolim, one can accept organ from both Jews and non-Jews alike.

[who knows?]

Some even are saying that Haredi person may only donate an organ to another Haredi person, not just any other Jew.