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me that it is preferable not to tell the parents that the medication was Declaration and consult with the patient about whether to transplant #
made from pig fat. a plastic heart valve or the valve taken from the heart of a pig. Is there
While it is forbidden to eat the spinal column of a snake, it is any concern about implanting a pig valve?
permissible to transplant a valve from the heart of a pig to a human
being, since there is no eating involved. Nonetheless, the pig is dis- 1 AnsweR
gusting in the eyes of the Jews. Therefore, if the physician is wise, we
instruct him to remain silent and not to reveal to the patient that he There is no concern at all because it is only forbidden to eat pig, not to
was given a valve from a pig. Likewise, if the physicians are concerned benefit from it in other ways, all the more so in a situation of pikuach
that the parents will not agree to give the premature baby the medica- nefesh.
tion that was extracted from a pig, they should not tell them how the
medication was made.
Is it Permissible to Raise Pigs for the Production
of Heart Valve for Patients who Need them? 20818_efi-ab - 20818_park-C_efi-ab | 8 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:46:24 | SR:-- | Magenta
Should one Hide from a Patient that a 1 Question #20818_efi-ab - 20818_park-C_efi-ab | 8 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:46:24 | SR:-- | Yellow 20818_efi-ab - 20818_park-C_efi-ab | 8 - B | 18-08-20 | 13:46:24 | SR:--
Medication Contains a Component that is
Forbidden by Some? Recently, physicians began using heart valves from pigs for transplan-
tation into people with defective heart valves. Is it permissible to raise
1 Question pigs for this purpose?
A patient requires medication which includes a certain substance that 1 AnsweR
some poskim forbid using. If the patient finds out that the medication
includes this substance, he will refuse to take it. Is it permissible to We learned in Tractate Baba Kamma (79b): “One does not raise
hide this knowledge from him? pigs in any location.” The Beraisa in the Gemara explains (ibid, 82b):
When the Chashmona’im besieged one with the other, Horkanos was
1 AnsweR inside and Aristobulus on the outside. Every day they used to lower a
basket with money and they pulled up the daily sacrifices. There was
If the patient is in danger and the medication is very helpful for his an old man there who understood Greek wisdom and knowledge. He
health, it is permissible to conceal this from him. said to them: as long as they are involved in their service, you will not
In the year 5708, war was spreading in Jerusalem. The Arabs were be able to defeat them. The next day, they lowered the basket with
shooting shrapnel, stones and mortars. Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer money and they pulled up a pig. Then they said: Cursed is the man
zt”l, did not go down into a shelter, perhaps since there were many who raises pigs.
people in the shelter and he would not have peace of mind to study It seems to me though, that if it is impossible to obtain prepared
Torah with a clear mind. Then his great faith in Hashem was revealed, pigs for this purpose unless a Jew raises them, one can permit it, be-
228 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Medications and Heart Valves from Pigs 2 225
