An Edinburgh man who was inspired to become an organ donor is urging people of faith to consider giving others the ultimate gift.
Muhammad Munir, 55, is of the Muslim faith and, despite the difference of opinion on organ donation in the Islamic community, he feels very passionately about the topic.
Mr Munir said: “My religion teaches me that looking after yourself and other people is our number one priority, and my heart says that there is no religion on earth where you wouldn’t want to save someone’s life.”
Organ donation has been debated extensively in pre-modern and contemporary times and some still believe that organ donation is impermissible in the Muslim faith.
Mr Munir continued: “I am of the Islamic faith and there are still some Muslims who believe that you should not become an organ donor after death due to the lack of knowledge and awareness on permissibility of organ donation – we need to raise more awareness!
“In Islam, we pray five times a day. However, our faith states you should look after your health and your body first.”
Mr Munir added: “I’ve had many discussions within my community with people who disagree with my decision to become an organ donor. I try to provide them with logical, scientific information and signpost them to the updated information by the Muslim scholars, but I don’t push them too much as you can only debate with someone who’s open to changing their mind.”
Mr Munir is a Peer Educator volunteer with Kidney Research UK and has been volunteering with the Organ Donation project for the past 5 years. The project focuses on raising awareness and educating the South Asian (Sikh, Hindu and Muslim) ethnic minority communities on organ donation.
Mr Munir, who is partially sighted and works for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), also felt that it was very important to make his family aware of his decision to become an organ donor.
NHS Lothian supports all initiatives to raise awareness of organ donation and Caroline Gallier, Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation, NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Families play a key role in organ and tissue donation and if you die in circumstances where you could be an organ donor, a specialist nurse would check the NHS Organ Donor Register to see if you had signed up.
“They would also speak to your family to ask them about whether you had expressed any more recent views and whether your faith would place any restrictions on donation.
“So, whatever your decision, it’s important your family know what you want.”
If you want to donate after your death, the best way to ensure your family know what you want and honour your decision is to have a conversation with them about it and register as a donor.
You can also record on the register whether your faith/belief is important and should be considered as part of the donation discussion, and you can consult your faith leader for further information.
You can find out more about organ and tissue donation and register your decision online at www.organdonation.scot or by calling 0300 123 23 23.
If you would like to learn more about an Islamic perspective on Organ Donation, please visit the following website here.