What Every Catholic Should Know About Organ Donation | Dr. Joe Zalot

In this episode, Dr. Joe Zalot, Staff Ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), joins us to explore one of the most pressing moral questions in modern healthcare: Can Catholics ethically participate in organ donation?

Dr. Zalot unpacks what the Catholic Church teaches about organ donation, focusing on three key principles:

1. The donor must be truly dead before vital organs are removed.
2. Free and informed consent must be given.
3. Donation must always be understood as a gift, never a commercial exchange.

This episode covers:

• The Catholic view of brain death and why it remains controversial.
• The difference between neurological criteria (brain death) and circulatory death (DCD).
• Why “moral certitude” is essential before proceeding with organ procurement.
• Ethical concerns with recent American Academy of Neurology brain death guidelines (2023).
• What Catholics should know before signing up as an organ donor.
• How to make informed decisions about end-of-life care and transplants.
• Whether or not vital organ donation is prudent in today's medical system

Dr. Zalot also highlights the importance of informed consent, the problem of automatic organ donor enrollment in some countries, and practical advice for Catholic families navigating these decisions.

Do you have a question about the ethics of specific medical situations? Check out the National Catholic Bioethics Center's 24-hour consultation service: Consultation Submission Form — The National Catholic Bioethics Center