Sale of plasma forbidden in Islam: Scholar

KARACHI: The sale of plasma for coronavirus treatment and even blood under normal circumstances is forbidden under Islamic injunctions, said scholar Mufti Zubair.

Speaking to a private TV channel, he said it was unworthy to take advantage of someone during these difficult times. He added that it was haram (unlawful) under Shariah law to sell plasma.

The scholar said that the sale of blood even under normal circumstances was prohibited under injunctions from the Holy Quran and Sunnah of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

He expressed disappointment over the rapid sale of plasma nowadays for COVID-19 treatment, and said that a ‘mafia’ is being operated involved in the sale and purchase of plasma.

He said it was unlawful to take advantage of someone’s misery and make million of rupees, adding that it was not just a violation of Islamic laws and injunctions but also tantamount to criminal behaviour.

This comes amid reports that many patients who have recovered from COVID-19 are selling plasma at exorbitant rates and even on the black market for up to one million rupees. It must be stressed that donating blood is not the same as selling plasma.

Many Islamic institutions such as the renowned Al-Azhar Univesity in Cairo have also issued a fatwa (Islamic verdict) warning coronavirus recovered patients that selling plasma is forbidden in Islam.

“As for the recovering person to sell his blood plasma, profiting from the pandemic, it is not permissible according to Islamic Sharia. The human body, with the flesh and blood it contains, belongs to the Allah the almighty, and it is not the property of the man, and no one has the right to sell what he does not own,” said a statement from Al-Azhar’s Fatwa Global Centre.

The verdict that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) explicitly forbade selling blood. It said that is forbidden to trading in the pain of people, exaggerating the price of blood, and profit from disease and poverty, calling it the most insidious types of trade as opposed to religion and generosity.