Debates in Islamic bioethics on how to increase organ donations: Between presumed consent and explicit consent

The worldwide shortage of available organs for transplantation has propelled religious scholars, physicians, and jurists to debate the best way to increase donation rates. Muslims are immersed in this debate among themselves. This paper compares several Muslim suggestions on how to encourage organ donation with the prevalent methods applied already in places with Islamic populations or communities. The paper concludes that the Islamic religion does not obstruct Muslims’ donations (especially cadaveric), but there is a lack of public education and awareness of the medical procedures related to transplantation. On the debate between the methods of Presumed Consent and Explicit Consent, Muslims tend to support the latter. Another conclusion is that Presumed Consent worldwide has not guaranteed so far that the shortage of available organs will be completely satisfied.