Article 8 of the Saudi Organ Donation Law

This article sets out five cases in which organ donation is prohibited, whatever the donor's wishes:

1. Serious harm to the donor: if the organ is necessary for his life, or the donation would lead to his death or the loss of use of a whole organ, or prevent him from carrying out his usual daily affairs.
2. Transplant unlikely to succeed: if the medical team assigned to the transfer believes the transplant of the organ into the intended recipient will probably not succeed.
3. Lack or limitation of capacity: if the living person lacks legal capacity or has limited capacity, and the consent of his guardian, custodian or the person in charge of his affairs is not recognized. No one may donate on his behalf.
4. A bequest not to donate: if a person bequeathed that none of his organs be donated after his death, his wish is respected.
5. Reproductive organs: if the organ is one of those that produce the reproductive cells that carry hereditary traits, or part of one.

Violating the provisions of this article carries a penalty under the law, but its amount is stated in another article whose text is not given here. Article 7 also gives the Center the task of determining an organ's suitability for transplant, which relates to the second case. A person facing a situation where he doubts whether it falls within the prohibited cases is best advised to consult a lawyer who specializes in medical or criminal cases.