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What is the ruling on organ donation from a living person or a deceased one? Is it a condition that the deceased bequeaths them for disposal? Do the family members have the right to dispose of them if the deceased did not make a will?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Humans are not free to dispose of their bodies; rather, they are governed by Shariah regulations.

It is impermissible to donate organs upon which the donor's life depends, such as the heart, as this constitutes prohibited suicide.

It is forbidden to donate an organ if it causes loss of function or hinders one from performing their duty, such as hands or legs.

It is permissible to donate an organ that does not harm the donor and provides benefit to a needy recipient, and this falls under the category of charity (Ihsan).

The most preponderant opinion is the permissibility of donating organs after death for the benefit of the living.

If it is permissible to donate an organ during life, then it is permissible to bequeath it after death, and the permission of the heirs or the guardian suffices.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy