Organ Transplants and the Medicalisation of Death: Dilemmas for Tibetan Buddhists

ABSTRACT This article deals with the Buddhist approach to death and the dilemmas facing Buddhists as regards the donation of their bodies after death. In particular, the article outlines the importance of the death process in providing an opportunity for transformation and Enlightenment. Firstly, the article deals with the issue of how bodies are procured for transplantation. This section notes the importance of the ‘brain death’ approach and the consequential issues surrounding the procurement of bodies that may arguably not be dead. Secondly, the article explores Buddhist views on organ transplants and how such views may fit within Buddhist ideas of the body, dying and the after life. In particular, the article describes how Buddhists may wish to structure their death and how these desires may not fit in with the structure and operation of ‘transplant medicine’.