Cornea Transplant

All praise is due to Allâh, may peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, his family, and his Companions. The thirteenth Council of the Board of Senior Scholars was held in the city of At-Ta'if during the second half of Shawwal, 1398 H. The members discussed the cornea transplant, from the eye of one individual to the eye of another. After reviewing the research compiled by the Permanent Committee for Scientific Re- searches and Religious Verdicts, based upon the suggestions of the honorable General President of the Offices of Scientific Researches, Religious Verdicts Preaching and Guidance, - in his letter (no. D/1/2/4572), and reviewing the findings of a group of ophthalmologists regarding the procedures, stating that the success rate of such operation ranges between 50 and 95%, depending on varying circumstances. And after the members discussed the details of this issue, the council, by majority, issued the following:

1) After making sure that the person is indeed dead, doctors may proceed to remove his eye as long as his relatives consent and as long as they are confident of a successful operation - and transplant it into the eye of another Muslim who needs it. This is based on the principle of bringing about the better of two benefits and removing the worse of two harms. Thus we opt for the benefit of the living over that of the dead, considering that the living can, by regaining sight, benefit himself and the nation. The dead person loses nothing by the removal of his cornea since his eyes are about to be transformed into the dirt underneath. the ground. And because both eyes are closed, there is no apparent mutilation involved.

2) Sometimes doctors may decide that a patient's cornea must be removed for his own welfare, in a situation where not removing it would harm him. Since he is not harmed when his cornea goes to somebody else, and since somebody else will benefit by it, this operation is in accordance with the principles of the Shari'ah, With Allah is the facilitation to do what is right. May Allah send peace and blessings upon Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

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