Science and society: death, unconsciousness and the brain.

Abstract:
"The concept of death has evolved as technology has progressed. This has forced medicine and society to redefine its ancient cardiorespiratory centred diagnosis to a neurocentric diagnosis of death. The apparent consensus about the definition of death has not yet appeased all controversy. Ethical, moral and religious concerns continue to surface and include a prevailing malaise about possible expansions of the definition of death to encompass the vegetative state or about the feared bias of formulating criteria so as to facilitate organ transplantation."

Says Steven Laureys, Neurology Department, University of Liège, Belgium:

"As mentioned in the paper my opinion is: death is an event and not a process ; brain dead patients are dead ; stick to the dead-donor rule. The situation in Belgium I believe is similar to France, with the exception that all citizens are donors unless one actively and explicitly objects during life."

==> Full article (PDF Format): click here.

Source:
National Review of Neurosciences, 2005 Nov;6(11):899-909.
Author: Laureys S., Cyclotron Research Centre and Neurology Department, Université de Liège, Sart Tilman-B30, 4000 Liege, Belgium.
NCBI-PubMed