Islamic Scholars Debate UAE's New Law On Organ Transplants

The National yesterday reported on a debate among Islamic scholars over a new legal instrument released this week by the United Arab Emirates permitting organ transplants from patients who are brain dead, but whose heart is still beating with the assistance of a ventilator. A number of other Muslim countries have permitted organ transplants, but some scholars insist that under Islamic law a person is dead only when he or she is no longer breathing. In 2008, Dubai's General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities published a fatwa on its website approving organ donation.