Medical Ethics - Questions And Answers

RE: Limb amputation The most common practice is to bury the severed limb immediately. If the amputee already purchased and selected a burial plot, it is customary for the limb to be buried there. If not, it is buried elsewhere in the cemetery. There are those who prefer to preserve the limb until the person dies so that they can be buried at the same time, but that does not seem to be the common practice.

(See Gesher Hachayim vol. 1, 16:2) Reply

Re: amputation without consent As far as Jewish law is concerned, a person has ownership over acquired possessions, but not over his own life. So, even if the patient were conscious, personal opinion is irrelevant. Anybody who can save a life is obligated to do whatever is necessary to do so. Reply