Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
It is not permissible to perform autopsy on the body of a
dead Muslim for the sake of education and other purposes.
It is only
permissible, if the life of another Muslim depends on it—even if it is
sometime in the future.
It is permissible to transplant an organ from an animal (including dogs
and pigs) to a human being; the transplanted organ will be considered as an
organ of the recipient; all rules will apply to it.
So salat will be
permissible with it by considering it ritually pure (tahir) after it
becomes part of the human body and its cells become rejuvenated.
(See the
question-answer section below)
It is not permissible for a doctor to switch off the medical apparatus
providing a Muslim patient with oxygen, even if he is brain dead, i.e. in
vegetative state. This is because the human life in Islam is
sacrosanct.
The doctor should not give in to the demand of the patient or
his family-members for stopping medical aid.
If the doctor pulls out the plug
and the Muslim patient dies because of it, he will be considered
killer.
It is not permissible for a medical student to look at the private parts
of anyone during his or her training for that profession, unless he would be
repelling serious harm from a Muslim in the process—even if it is sometime in
the future— .
It is not obligatory on a Muslim to investigate whether or not the
medicine [given to him] consists of forbidden ingredients, even if the process
of reading a result is easy for him.