A famous Egyptian doctor has sparked widespread controversy over the past two days, after he raised a question about the possibility of using the organs of those sentenced to death to save patients who need organ transplants.
The story began after Dr. Hossam Mowafi, Professor of Critical Care Medicine at Kasr Al-Aini Faculty of Medicine, spoke during a television program about the possibility of benefiting from the organs of those sentenced to death, such as kidneys, corneas, and others, to save the lives of patients who need to be transplanted.
Mowafi called for referring to the competent legal and legal authorities to determine the extent of the possibility of implementing the idea, which sparked widespread controversy on social media sites, and within medical, legal, and religious circles, especially since Mowafi enjoys a wide following in Egypt.
Opinions varied regarding the proposal. Supporters believed that benefiting from organs might help save patients in need of transplantation, while opponents raised questions related to the free will of the convict, and whether his consent to donate could be considered free in light of a death sentence being issued against him.
The head of the Medical Syndicate, Osama Abdel-Hay, said in media statements that Mowafi’s proposal contradicts the concept of donation, explaining that organ donation must be done by a person’s will, whether during his life or after his death.
The Secretary-General of the Doctors Syndicate, Abu Bakr Al-Qadi, also told local media that Egyptian law stipulates the necessity of obtaining explicit consent from the donor, explaining that the Syndicate supports the legalization of organ donation, provided that the donation is based on the will of the donor.
However, Dr. Ahmed Al-Sheikh, rapporteur of the Media Committee of the Medical Syndicate and a consultant in kidney diseases and transplantation, told the BBC that the Syndicate did not take an official position on Mowafi’s statements, and did not issue a statement rejecting or supporting them, and that the positions issued by some doctors express their personal opinions.
The Sheikh added that donating organs from those sentenced to death could be legally and legally permissible, but a basic condition is obtaining free and explicit consent from the convict.
He explained that implementing this in practice faces challenges, including the lack of an integrated executive mechanism to record a person’s desire to donate his organs after death and linking it to a unified system, in addition to the need for procedures that ensure transparency and prevent any pressure or exploitation.
For his part, Mohamed Mukhtar Gomaa, former Egyptian Minister of Endowments and member of the Islamic Research Academy, said that Muwafi did not issue a fatwa regarding the donation of organs for those sentenced to death, but rather raised a question about the extent of this possibility.
Jumaa explained that the human body is not a commodity, and that organ donation is one of the issues that has witnessed jurisprudential disagreement, but it tends to be permissible under controls, including that the donation must be with complete consent and not be made under coercion or on behalf of the donor.
He added that resorting to organ transplantation should be when necessary, to save a patient's life or treat him from a serious illness.
In the wake of the criticism raised by his statements, Hossam Mowafy said that what he proposed was subjected to distortion, stressing that he did not present a fatwa or call to implement the idea, but rather presented it in the form of a question that requires legal and Sharia research.
He said in a telephone interview that the aim of his proposal was to discuss the possibility of benefiting from the organs of those sentenced to death to save the lives of patients, stressing the necessity of obtaining the consent of the convict, and referring to the Public Prosecutor and the Sheikh of Al-Azhar to resolve the legal and legal aspects.
The current controversy does not come in isolation from previous discussions in Egypt regarding post-mortem organ and tissue donation.
Last February, Senate Representative Amira Saber submitted a proposal to establish a national tissue bank and facilitate post-mortem tissue donation procedures. She said that the goal is to save the lives of patients and establish a legal and ethical framework that prevents trafficking in organs and tissues.
The proposal, in turn, sparked controversy on social media, between those who considered it a step that could help save patients, and those who expressed religious and moral concerns related to the sanctity of the body and the possibility of misusing human tissue.
Speaking to the BBC, Ahmed Al-Sheikh said that there is ongoing work in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Supreme Committee for Organ Transplantation to expand kidney transplantation and increase the number of donors.
He added that work is currently underway to introduce the “reciprocal donation” system, which allows for a clearing process between donation cases in which the medical characteristics between the donor and the patient do not match, noting that its application aims to ensure transparency and justice and reduce fraud attempts.
Al-Sheikh said that the main obstacle to expanding donation after death is the absence of a unified and effective mechanism for registering a person’s desire to donate, whether through the national ID card or through a unified electronic network.
Egypt regulates organ transfers and transplantation under Law No. 5 of 2010, which allows the transfer of an organ or tissue from the body of a dead person to a living person when necessary, provided that the deceased had recommended this before his death in a notarized will or recorded in an official document, in accordance with the procedures specified by the executive regulations. The law also requires that death be confirmed with certainty before any organ can be transferred.
