Board of Deputies of British Jews - Advocacy | Democracy | Community
  • September 16th, 2020

Organ Donation – The Jewish Experience

  • Organ donation experts and transplant recipients spoke to Deputies and Jewish medical professionals from around the country on Thursday 10th September by webinar, urging Jewish communities to engage in the organ donation system.
  • Organ donor professionals ‘support for organ donors in England  for whom faith is important has been outlined in a Faith and Beliefs Commitment Statement available from the online organ donor register or here.
  • The event, organised by the Board of Deputies (with the help of the Jewish Medical Association UK) as part of NHS Blood and Transplant’s #organdonationweek, featured Professor David Katz, Surgeon Mr Jonathan Olsburgh and Nephrologist Prof Alan Salama. Powerful testimony was heard from an anonymous recipient and from Mr David Myers, Chair of the Royal Free London Organ Donation Committee.
  • Board of Deputies Vice President Amanda Bowman said: “In the run up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, many of us will be reflecting on what more we can do to live according to our Jewish values. It is critical that members of the community, drawing on Rabbinic advice as they feel appropriate, talk with their families about whether and how they would like to become an organ donor should anything happen to them. Ensuring that our families know our wishes whatever the future may hold is a critical way to live our Jewish values of saving life, respect for the deceased and care for the bereaved.”
  • You can find the Board of Deputies explanatory note on the organ donation system in England here.

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