'''Organ donation''' is the act of donating one or more bodily organs to another person so that they may be used in the recipient's body to increase the chance of survival and/or health of the recipient. Such a transfer is called an organ transplant. Other donations of a similar nature include blood and bone marrow donations. The following will address organ donation by exploring both [[patristics|patristic ]] and contemporary [[theology|theological ]] thought so as to gain an Orthodox perspective on the subject.

As humans with a fallen nature, our human bodies are subject to corruption, decay, and death. Often, death of the physical body is brought about as a result of this corruption and decay in the organs of the body. Advances in medical and surgical technology in the past century, however, now allow the prevention of death and the improvement in health of persons afflicted with diseased organs by the receiving of new organs, which then replace the old. This is widely utilized as the method of healing for such afflicted persons. The organ donor may be one of the following:

A healthy human can donate a kidney, part of his or her liver, bone marrow, and blood without serious long term health risks. Surgeons can transplant many additional organs, such as the heart and lungs, intestines, pancreas, and the corneas, if the donor is already dead.

Specifically in reference to medicine, history has shown that the church does not reject secular medicine. [[Apostle Luke|St. Luke the Evangelist]], for instance, was known to be a physician (Col 4:14). Other saints[[saint]]s, [[Church Fathers|fathers]], hierarchs[[hierarch]]s, patriarchs[[patriarch]]s, and priests [[priest]]s were also known to be physicians by trade. The Church has always commemorated such physicians as [[Cosmas and Damian|Ss. Cosmas and Damianos]], Ss. John and Cyrus, and Ss. Panteleimon and Hermolaus, recognized for their theology and piety, as well as healing skills. In fact, St. [[Basil the Great ]] blessed the use of secular medicine , saying that God worked just as much through the visible world as the invisible. Therefore, God’s grace is made manifest in the ability to heal through medicine just as much as through miraculous cures. Further, as long as the goal of pleasing God and tending to spiritual health remains primary, medicine is in absolute harmony with Christianity. It even makes us more acutely aware of God’s power. St. [[John Chrysostom]], as well, stressed that those with the ability to relieve the suffering of others and save them from death had a responsibility to do so.

However, there are also instances where the fathers specifically expressed that the use of medicine, regarded so highly as a Christian virtue, should be limited or even avoided at times, and that prayer and piety should be employed as methods for a cure. The emphasis in healing has always been on prayer, even in conjunction with secular medicine. St. Basil says “do not forget that without God there is no healing for anyone,” and, “Those who resort to physicians, may they resort to them while relying on God, saying: ‘It is in the name of God that we entrust ourselves to physicians, believing that He will grant us healing through them.”

Thus the emphasis in the writings of the fathers has always been placed on healing in conjunction with prayer and awe at the Lord’s miracles. The illnesses of the body are never attended to without attention to the illnesses of the soul, which are far more paramount. And the sanctity of the body, as the temple of the Holy Spirit, must always be respected and honored by the physicians and the patients.