Promoting deceased organ donation: should familist incentives be adopted in Islamic regions?

Abstract

This essay presents arguments for adopting a familist incentive approach for promoting deceased organ donation in Islamic regions. It argues that the familist incentive (a system in which the immediate relatives of a deceased donor are given priority in organ allocation within the waitlist of medically similar patients) should be adopted in Islamic regions, where the prevailing Islamic moral culture shapes the way of life for the majority of inhabitants by following the Islamic classics. The classics value the preservation of human life and legitimize the priority of saving the lives of family members. The essay also provides practical reasons to address objections to adopting such an approach in Islamic regions. It concludes that adopting a familist incentive approach could be both morally defensible and practically effective in these regions, thereby optimizing deceased organ donations, protecting the progeny of the family, and improving overall healthcare outcomes.