Fatwa suspends activities of Pakistan’s first milk bank

The Institute of Child Health and Neonatology of Sindh province stated that it will contact the Council of Islamic Ideology to confirm that the project is in accordance with Islamic law. In fact, Muslim judges had already approved it by establishing a series of preconditions. But the controversy on social networks forced the issue to be reconsidered.

Karachi () – The Sindh Provincial Institute of Child Health and Neonatology (SICHN) has been forced to suspend the activities of Pakistan’s first human milk bank due to controversy on social networks in which it is suggested that It is incompatible with the precepts of Islam. The Institute announced that it will turn to Karachi’s Darul Ulum, a madrasa of Deobandi tradition, and to the Council of Islamic Ideology, the body that provides legal advice to the government on Islamic issues.

In fact, the Darul Ulum Council had issued a fatwa (a religious provision) in December guaranteeing “religious support” for the institution, considering that the project respected sharia, Islamic law. Muslim jurists had laid down a number of preconditions for the creation of the milk bank, including that “complete details of women who contribute to milk donation be shared with the mothers whose babies receive the milk, so that maintain a relationship register”; that the service “must be provided free of charge”; and that “Muslim babies only receive milk from Muslim mothers.”

However, in the review on June 16, shortly after the inauguration of the milk bank, the Darul Ulum of Karachi stated that it is very difficult, if not almost impossible, to implement all the conditions mentioned in the December fatwa and suspended the activities.

In a press release, the SICHN said that the Darul Uloom of Karachi and the Council of Islamic Ideology are “respected institutions” and “pillars of religious scholarship, and their opinions will be very valuable in addressing this complicated issue.” “We are committed to ensuring that our initiatives in the field of health are not only scientifically valid but also in accordance with the precepts of the Islamic religion.”

A SICHN representative also explained that “of 50 children admitted to our hospital, between 30 and 35 are premature. These children need breast milk to avoid complications and increase their chances of survival. But unfortunately some mothers do not have enough breast milk to meet their nutritional requirements.”

Interviewed by local newspaper Dawn Regarding the controversy that has arisen on social networks, the representative continued by saying that there are human milk banks in several Muslim countries, including Iran and Malaysia: “Unfortunately our society has lost the ability to dialogue as educated people do.” , he added, referring to the “misinformation” that circulates on the networks.

The main crux of the issue is the relationship that would be created between the newborn and the donor mother and between the different newborns who received milk from the same woman. They would be relationships equivalent to those that exist between biological mother and child and between siblings. Therefore, according to the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, this type of relationship must be clearly stated to avoid future marriages between children who have received the same breast milk, which in Islam are considered “mahram” and are prohibited. because they are incestuous. In most of the Muslim world the practice is prohibited because donors usually remain anonymous.