Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalaamoalaikum Wa Rahmatullahe Wa Barakatuh,

Recently i came across an article in news mentioning that some girls are born without ovaries and some ladies loose their ovaries due to damage from some illness or therapies. in modern science, it is possile for an ovarian transplantation. as a woman has two ovaries, she can donate one of her ovary to a needu woman and yet live her life healthily with one ovary.

Will it be lawful in Islam if a lady who has got married and has children wants to donate one of her ovary to such a needy lady? will it not be good to help someone bear a child and be blessed and happy ? if such donation is permitted, then will it be permitted to be donated only to a muslim sister or a non-muslim sister also ? Islam teaches hus-e-suluk to all, whether muslims or non-muslims. in the light of the same, will it be ok if the recepient of such a donated ovary is a non-muslim sister.

please answer my question.

JazaakAllah.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Donate ovary

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The Holy Quran and Sunnah are silent on the issue of donating organs, as these transplants were obviously made available only after the advancements of technology and modern medicine, which were not available at the time the Quran was being revealed. The scholars in Islam have debated on this issue in light of the principles of the Quran and Sunnah, and the majority of them are of the opinion that there is no harm if one donates their body organs to another so that some other may benefit from them; provided some conditions are met.

1. One cannot be forced to donate his body parts.
2. One may donate his body parts of his own free will.
3. One should not sell or get any material benefit for donating his body parts.

A few scholars though, have voiced their opinion saying that it is forbidden to donate one’s body parts to another. Their ‘daleel’ is that man is not the inherent owner of his own body, as the body was only given to man as a trust from Allah Subhanah, Who is the Real Owner of everything. Therefore it is not permissible to distribute something which does not belong to man in the first place.

The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that if one donates one’s organs like eyes, kidneys, etc. of his own free will, and does not demand or get any material benefit from it, there is no harm in donating one’s body parts to a loved one when alive or after one’s death.

The scholars and jurists in Islam are absolutely unanimous in their opinion that the donation of surrogate sperms, or ovaries, or eggs, or any organ or body part which involves reproduction of the human being is absolutely impermissible in Islam. Their argument is that such transplants violate the sanctity of blood-relationships and have a direct legal and Shariah bearings on the formation of mehrams, marriage, inheritance, etc.

If one woman were to donate her ovaries to another, and the other woman were to bear children….who should or would be the legal mother of that child? Would the child be a mehram to the woman who donated the ovary, or to the mother to whom it was donated, or to both? If the ovaries were donated to a non-muslim, would the child be a legal muslim or a non-muslim? Because the sperms which fertilized the eggs were from the ovary of a woman other than one’s wife, what would be the legal standing of the child???? Who exactly would the child inherit from? Who exactly would be eligible to inherit from it?........Beloved Sister in Islam, as good as your intentions may sound, the legal repercussions or violations which may intentionally or unintentionally occur as a direct result of such a reproductive organ transplant would annihilate the sanctity of blood-relations which Islam so strongly strives to honor and preserve!

Thus the scholars have opined that although it would be permissible for one, under certain conditions, to donate organs like kidneys, eyes, etc.; they hold it absolutely impermissible to donate any reproductive organs like surrogate ovaries, eggs, sperms, etc. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan