Review of the Jurisprudential and Juridical Principles of Human's Possession of the Body

Today by the development of medical science, it is possible to transplant the human organ. Organs are transplanted in two ways. First, the organ is separated from the live human and is transplanted in the needed body. Second, the organ is separated from the dead body (people suffered from brain death); in this way, the will or the consent of the family of the dead person is needed. The increasing need to the organs to treat the patients in need of transplantation has gradually raised the issue of buying and selling the organs of the body such that everyday announcements with the subject of selling or buying the body organs are seen in public places in the society. This new phenomenon has some effects on the jurisprudential and juridical issues pertaining to such transactions. In another word, the issue is raised as to whether the human has the right of possession of his/her organ? To what extent does the human have the right of possession of his/her body? Raising of this question and seeking to answer it from the viewpoint of the religious texts and the Shi'ite jurisprudential reasoning led the author to write this study using a descriptive-analytical method. In this new issue, some of the Shi'ite jurisprudents, referring to the verses of the Quran and the traditions, have accepted that human does not have the right of possession of his/her body. On the contrary, another group, referring to the verses and the traditions, holds that the possession of the body organ is inherent; accordingly, the human has the right to have possession of his body and to use all of its benefits. Transplantation of the body organ is a type of occupation and as long as it does not harm the body, it is jurisprudentially and juridically permitted. This study, without referring to medical issues and the transplantation of body organ of a live human which have been studied widely in different books and articles, reviews and discusses a number of issues about possession, limits of possession, and the reasons of those who believe in such a possession from the viewpoint of law and jurisprudence.