Fr. Stanley Harakas addressed posthumous organ donation in his columns and books, concluding that although the issue had never been formally addressed by the Church, as it was an act of love that would save another, it was a practice to be considered after discussion with one's family and spirtual father. I have never read anywhere that the heart was exempted...did Fr. Stanley address this at SVS?
Not in so many words. The heart, however, was about the only place where Fathers Stanley and John differed vis-a-vis organ transplants. My former parish priest came down strongly behind Father John Breck's rationale, the physical/spiritual heart having traditionally such a major role in Orthodox spirituality. The ethical question remains: would the heart be "harvested" even though the possibility remains that the soul has not left the physical body, and scientists have different opinions, even to this day, as to when death actually occurs?
Hypo-Ortho
