Non-monetary renal transplantation: An old issue and a new look from Holy Quran

Dear Editor

Iread the recent publication by Zahra Tolou-Ghamari entitled “Nephro and neurotoxicity of calcineurin inhibitors and mechanisms of rejections: A review on tacrolimus and cyclosporin in organ transplantation” with a great interest. In which, the history of transplantation and viewpoints from the ancient time, especially in the renal transplantation has been reviewed (1). Following this paper, taking a new look from Holy Quran in renal transplantation seems of utmost importance.

Renal transplants differ from most other transplants because living people are able to donate without significant adverse effects on their own health. Therefore, donated kidneys have a potential to become a commercial asset. Today’s, in order to resolve the lack of donors, some have advocated financial payments being made to donors (2).

In Holy Quran, it is stated that the body (i.e. the kidney) is not human belonging and it is held in trust for a lifetime, then it returns to the creator (3). In addition, Muslims are encouraged to seek remedy and treatment and adherents to help others and to save life (4). Furthermore, it is declared that, if anyone saves a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind (5). Therefore, if the person donating the kidney does not pose a threat to his own life by donating it and is not doing it for the money, then he may donate as an act of saving another human being’s life. It should be noted that in any case of donation of a renal organ to another human, basic requisite is that no lives are endangered and the donation is not being given in order to earn money. Therefore, the transplant must not brings harm to the donor even financial payments being made. This is based on an Islamic legal maxim that states “harm cannot be removed in a way that leads to another type of harm” (6).

A possible compromise is a non-monetary reward system. For instance, patients who have previously agreed to be on the transplant list could receive priority health care rather than direct payment passing. In this regard, efforts should be made by the relevant bodies to educate the public, and to increase awareness of the need for non-monetary renal donations to save lives.

Conflict of interest

The author declared no competing interests.

Funding/Support

None declared.

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education:

Since the first kidney transplant was performed over fifty years ago, it has offered the chance of life and the freedom from dialysis for thousands of people. However, due to its importance, donated kidneys have become a commercial asset. This letter focuses on an old issue from Holy Quran for non-monetary transplantation with a new look.

Please cite this paper as: Baradaran-Ghahfarokhi M. Non-monetary renal transplantation: An old issue and a new look from Holy Quran. J Nephropathology. 2012; 1(2): 121-122. DOI: 10.5812/nephropathol.7528