PBA: I understand. I know that I get a ton of flak for this opinion. I also feel that voicing this opinion is more than worth it. It’s not that I feel that the other side is Halachically illegitimate. I just feel (very, very, strongly) that they have missed the point, are not completely aware of the physical facts, and have therefore created a situation where Israel is denied organs to save Jewish lives because too many Jews won’t be organ donors. They might have valid claims, but I have yet to hear one (T’chiyas Hameisim, Kavod Hameis, Nivul Hameis, and a few others I won’t repeat here) that would be enough to stop someone from saving a life. Not calling brain stem death Misah is a valid argument but someone can have a card saying that organs can only be donated after cessation of a heartbeat. I see no reason whatsoever to oppose such a thing. Nivul Hameis/T’chiyas Hameisim should never be enough to allow a person to die.
From Wikipedia:
The rate of agreement to organ donation is only 45%, which is 50% lower than the rate in most Western countries.[7] The percentage of people who hold an organ donation card in Israel is only 10 percent;[8][9] in Western countries the rate is 30-40%. As a result, there are about 1,000 Israelis currently on the “waiting list” for organs, and it is estimated that roughly 10% of them die annually, due to a lack of donations.[3]
That’s 100 precious Neshamos every year that could have lived longer.