The basic Christian view to organ donation:
Throughout His life here on earth, from His lowly birth to his sacrificial death, the Lord Jesus Christ led a compassionate and self-giving life. He was constantly ministering to the poor, the disable, the hungry and the socially-marginalized. Restoring people to spiritual, physical, emotional and mental health was an integral part of His ministry. He Himself summarized His work in this manner. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has appointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of the sight to the blind, to set a liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” He enabled people to see and understand spiritual truth by restoring their spiritual sight. But on many occasions, He also brought the gift of sight to the visually-disabled person. By God’s grace, medical science has advanced to a stage when cornea and other organ transplant is possible, giving hope to many who are in need of and can benefit from such a process. This gives Christians the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Jesus by doing something concrete to help the blind to regain their sight and the sick to recover the use of a vital organ. The Holy Bible makes a clear distinction between the resurrected body (for the next life) and our earthly bodies. Our earthly bodies serve a useful purpose for this present life alone and has no relevant function in the life to come. Therefore, if the usefulness of our bodily organs can be extended beyond our own early existence for the benefit of those who remain here, we should do all we can to make this possible. The Christian Federation of Malaysia encourages all Christians to share Christ’s love with those who are in grave need of replacement for their dysfunctional organs. This should become an integral part of Christian education at home and in the church. The Christian community needs to have more awareness campaigns on this matter.

The legal and ethical issues:
The willingness on the part of donors must be matched by legal and ethical safeguards which protect themselves and their loved ones from any indignity and exploitation. The Christian Federation of Malaysia appreciates the efforts of this seminar in addressing the relevant issues pertaining to this. All of these issues are port of the Christian discussion of tissue transplant over the years. The law must protect both donors and their families. From the Christian viewpoint, clear consent must be obtained from the prospective donor or legal guardian, and in the case where the legal guardian gives consent, that it be ascertained that no ulterior motive or financial gain is involved. Provisions must be made for minors and the mentally-disabled. Organ donation of any kind should not be made mandatory by legislation but should be solely dependent on voluntary donation. Education not legislation should be the focus of any recruitment campaign. Allocation of donated tissues should not be discriminatory to the prospective recipients on the basis of race, creed, religion or economic status. Tissue transplant should not be exploited for monetary gain. (The problem is not restricted to donors from poor countries but is perpetrated by the purchasing power of the rich.) Certification of death must be determined by a clearly spelt out and scrupulously complied with protocol. The certification of clinical death must be by competent personnel of the medical profession. More than one physician should be involved in the decision and they should not be members of the transplant team. Sufficient time should be allowed for observation. Allowance should be made for the effects of hypothermia or drug-induced coma. The certification relates to death, not merely dying or in deep coma. The signs must be that of total brain death and not merely of partial brain death.

The pastoral consideration
The Christian Federation of Malaysia is very concerned about how the transplant team goes about their job as far as it involves the family of the donor. Adequate preparation of the loved ones in terms of education and counselling before and after is essential. The more preparation there is prior to the event, the less traumatic and dignified it would be for the family. We recommend a team comprising not only the medical personnel but also social workers/religious personnel. There should be room for whatever religious rites, which are appropriate to the religion and the occasion and in accordance to the wishes of the family.