What does the Church teach about organ donation?

The Catholic Church supports organ donation when it respects human dignity. Donation after death can be a generous act of charity, while removing vital organs may never cause the donor's death.

Why organ donation can be good. Giving an organ to save or improve another person's life can express Christlike self-gift. The Catechism calls organ donation after death "noble and meritorious" and encourages it as an expression of generous solidarity (CCC 2301). Living donation can also be morally good when the risks and physical harm to the donor are proportionate to the benefit expected for the recipient (CCC 2296). Donating one kidney, for example, may be permissible when physicians judge that the donor can reasonably continue living in good health.

Consent is required. Organs may not be taken without the informed consent of the donor or, when appropriate, the donor's legitimate representative (CCC 2296, 2301). Consent must be free. No one may be pressured, deceived, bought, or treated as a source of biological parts. The commercial sale of organs violates human dignity because the human body and its parts cannot be treated merely as commodities.

The donor must not be killed. A person's death may never be caused to obtain organs, even to save several other lives. The end does not justify the means. Directly killing an innocent person is always gravely wrong (CCC 1756, 2277). For vital organs that can be removed only after death, physicians must have moral certainty that death has occurred. The Church does not define the medical criteria for death, but any accepted criteria must establish the death of the whole person and be applied with scientific rigor. Ordinary medical care cannot be withdrawn merely to make organs available sooner.

What families should do. Catholics may register as organ donors and discuss the decision with their families. They may also place reasonable moral conditions on donation. Families should ask whether death has been reliably established, whether consent is documented, and whether the transplant team is protecting the donor's dignity. The donor's body must be treated reverently and may receive a Catholic funeral.

If you are considering donation, record your wishes clearly, speak with your family, and consult a faithful priest or Catholic medical ethicist if the circumstances are uncertain.