Chapter 79
- Brain Death
- Kenjiro Mori
- Koh Shingu
- Shinichi Nakao
Because advancements in medicine have changed the definition and
concept of death, legislation must also change accordingly. This issue results from
progress in organ transplantation and the increasing number of patients who have
a living body but nonfunctioning brain, a consequence of discoveries in resuscitative
and life support techniques. Such refinements in critical care medicine mean that
neurologists, neurosurgeons, and anesthesiologists must be able to make an appropriate
diagnosis of death. Although cultural and religious diversity may lead to great
differences in attitudes toward brain death, the concept of brain death as defining
the death of the individual is widely accepted.[1]
[2]
Many countries have published recommendations
or legal requirements for the diagnosis of brain death as a necessary prerequisite
for organ donation.
