Khatami Announces Organ Donation Amid Media Ban

Mohammad Khatami and his family have announced that the organs of his mother, Sakineh Ziaee, will be donated to medical science after she dies.

On March 27, the social affairs office at Sadouqi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd said the family had reached the decision after it became clear that her condition was rapidly deteriorating. The former reformist president’s mother is suffering from a brain lesion. Last week, she underwent the necessary tests to ensure she was a viable organ donor.

Dr. Ali Dehqan, a medical deputy at the university, told the local Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) in Yazd:

“After the necessary medical examinations, the team found that Ms. Ziaee’s liver can be used for transplants.”

“In coordination with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, her liver will be donated as soon as they have a patient with the same blood group in need of liver.”

Sakineh Ziaee is the widow of Yazd’s Friday Imam, Rohollah Khatami, and has been in a coma since the start of Iranian New Year on March 21. She was originally hospitalized at Ziaee Hospital in Ardakan, and later transferred to Yazd.

Mohammad Khatami’s sister died just days before Ziaae went into a coma. At the time of her death, the Iranian judiciary ordered a media ban on reporting news about Khatami, announcing that it was illegal to publish photographs of the former president, print transcripts of his speeches, or even mention his name.

Read the original article in Persian