MUSLIMS STILL RELUCTANT TO DONATE ORGANS

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- Despite fatwas (religious decrees)
allowing organ donation, Muslims in Malaysia still remain reluctant to donate
organs, said the chief coordinator of the National Transplant Resource Centre
(NTRC) Dr Lela Yasmin Mansor.

She said since 1976, there were only 17 Malay organ donors as compared to
179 from the Chinese community and 81 from the Indian community.

"It could because the fatwas also attach various conditions like the organ
donation must be to save lives, for living donors it must not jeopardise their
own safety, and in the case of dead donors, it must be ascertained they died and
were not murdered and there must also be proof that an actual transplant is to
take place and not merely a test," she told reporters after a meeting of an
action committee tasked with raising awareness on organ donation here Friday.

Also present was the chairman of the commmittee, Lee Lam Thye.

Dr Lela also said though many Muslims were aware of the need to donate
organs, obstacles posed by lower ranked religious officials handling deaths made
the task more difficult.

This was because burials of Muslims must be done quickly and corpses should
not be put under any stress, she said, adding that on the part of the NTRC, they
would follow all procedures laid down to ensure there was no conflicts with
fatwas issued on the matter.

-- BERNAMA