Clarifying the donation equation

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Henriette Ivanans-McIntyre has a message for the Winnipeg Jewish community: it’s OK to be an organ donor.

“I wouldn’t be here without it,” said Ivanans-McIntyre, who has had two kidney transplants — the first when she was a young teen and the second in 2011 when she received a kidney from husband Kevin.

The Canadian actor, who has appeared in movies and TV shows — she was Maggie O’Halloran on Star Trek: Voyager — will be speaking about her transplant experience on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at To Save a Life: A Jewish Discussion on Organ Donation, at the Jewish Burial Society, 1023 Main St.

The event is organized by the National Council of Jewish Women, Winnipeg Section and the Burial Society.

For Ivanans-McIntyre, who converted to Judaism along with her husband, religion should be no barrier to organ donation.

“Once someone is as sick as I was, religion goes out the window. You shouldn’t let dogma get in the way of saving a life,” she says.

Ivanans-McIntyre is referring to the belief among some Jews that donating organs is forbidden by Jewish law, owing to religious questions about determining when death occurs — brain death versus the ceasing of a heartbeat.

Traditionally, Jews have believed death occurs when the heart stops, but most rabbis today hold that it occurs with the irreversible cessation of brain stem function, when a person is unable to breathe independently without a ventilator.

When that happens, there is a window to obtain organs for donation and transplantation — a chance to save a life — but some Jews are still uncertain if it is permissible.

Rabbi Yosef Benarroch of Adas Yeshurun Herzlia synagogue in Winnipeg wants to dispel that notion so more Jews will sign up as organ donors, which can be done at signupforlife.ca.

Organ donation is a mitzvah, a good deed, says Benarroch, who is also speaking at the event. It’s also consistent with the core Jewish concept of “pikuach nefesh,” a Hebrew phrase that means “saving a life.”

For those who worry they might be breaking a religious rule by allowing organs to be taken before the heart stops beating, or in delaying burial, Benarroch says the obligation to save lives overrides all other commands in the Torah.

“That is a tremendous ideal in Judaism. We must do everything we can to save lives,” he says.

Benarroch references the 1986 ruling by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel — the highest authority in Judaism — which ruled in favour of recognizing brain death so organs can be taken for transplantation.

Despite that, the worldwide Jewish community still has one of the lowest rates of organ donation, according to the Canadian Jewish News.

According to the Halachic Organ Donation Society, which is composed of rabbis and doctors from around the world, the low percentage is partly due only four per cent of Israelis being registered as organ donors. This is far fewer than the 30 per cent or so in other Western countries.

“As a result, Jews have the lowest percentage, among all other ethnic groups worldwide, of signing organ-donor cards,” the society says.

At the event, Benarroch wants to dispel misconceptions about Jewish law, brain death and organ donation.

“The most important thing I want to get across is the importance of saving lives,” he said.

Rena Boroditsky is executive director of Chesed Shel Emes, the Jewish Burial Society. For her, the event is an opportunity to raise awareness about organ donation in the Jewish community.

The question of whether someone can have a traditional Jewish burial if they have donated organs “comes up often,” she said.

The answer is yes.

“It’s the same as if someone had surgery. They aren’t precluded from a traditional Jewish burial. More people need to know it is OK,” Boroditsky says.

In addition to Ivanans-McIntyre and Bennaroch, the event will include speakers from Transplant Manitoba.

The event is free and in-person only. Registration is required; call 204-582-5088 to reserve a place.

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