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NEWS
Statement of Opinion
Motzei Shabbos Kodesh parshas Metzoro, night of 8th Nisan,
5768
I hereby reiterate what is already known, with the sole aim
of rebutting the various distorters who distressed my master
and father, gaon of Yisroel, in this matter while he
was still alive — may Hashem forgive them and may they
not repeat their folly. I wish to make known my father's
clear opinion that there are no grounds whatsoever for
permitting a patient classed as brain dead to be moved and
even more emphatically, none for allowing the removal of any
of his organs. Appended is a letter written by my relative
the gaon Rav Simchah Bunim Leizerson, who had
extensive contact with my father in matters of halochoh, in
particular in this area and specifically in clarifying this
point. All he says is the absolute truth.
Written and signed for the sake of the truth and to uphold
Torah,
Shmuel, son of my master and father, gaon of Yisroel,
morenu HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
*
Writing as someone who had the fortune to hold extensive
discussions with the pillar of halachic ruling, HaRav Shlomo
Zalman Auerbach ztvk'l, regarding the determination of
the moment of death and organ transplants, and having heard
from him at length about the topic's development and the
stages of the debate as it unfolded, I am able to testify
that the unequivocal opinion of our master, the gaon
of Yisroel zy'a, was that a patient considered brain
dead by doctors is not considered dead according to halochoh
and that no organ may be chas vesholom removed from
someone in this state for transplantation. [Furthermore] in
Eretz Yisroel it is absolutely prohibited to register for
receiving donated organs removed from a critically ill
patient classed as brain dead, even if all the necessary
tests have been done to verify this classification and even
if they were done in a permitted manner.
In response to an article published in Assia 53-4 that
was sharply critical of our master's position, I drafted a
response during the last winter of his life, explaining his
view and responding to the criticisms. In this article, which
was written under his close guidance and direction. He even
wrote part of it himself, and every step of whose discussion
was reviewed by him very carefully. It concludes as
follows:
"In view of all the above, regarding all the considerations
relating to determining the moment of death, it seems
straightforward that neither in Eretz Yisroel nor in chutz
la'aretz is it permitted to remove any organ from a
patient classed clinically as dead owing to brain death. In
addition, in Eretz Yisroel it is permitted neither to receive
nor to register for such a transplant. The prohibition of
these procedures is in full force."
At that time, somebody published an intentional distortion of
his eminent view in a medical journal in chutz
la'aretz and I was asked by the parties involved to
persuade him to issue a public denial. I heard our master
zy'a, remark, deeply shocked, "How many times must I
deny the truth something that I never said?"
Ultimately, owing to the matter's extreme urgency, he agreed,
and on the tenth of Kislev 5755, approximately three months
before he passed away, he again published his clear and
unequivocal opinion prohibiting it, stating, "I hereby inform
you that I have not changed my opinion from what I wrote to
you and my view remains that someone who has suffered brain
death is still considered as sofek goses according to
our holy Torah [i.e. possibly at death's door but in the
meantime alive] — someone who [even] moves a
goses is regarded as a murderer — certainly no
organ of his may be removed."
Nothing fundamental has changed and everything remains clear,
confirmed and upheld, as it was then.
Simchah Bunim Leizerson
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