Christian Bioethics, Brain Death, and Vital Organ Donation

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Brain Death ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Vital Organ

Death, dying and donation: community perceptions of brain death and their relationship to decisions regarding withdrawal of vital organ support and organ donation

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 1192-1201
Author(s):  
George Skowronski ◽  
Michael J. O'Leary ◽  
Christine Critchley ◽  
Lisa O'Reilly ◽  
Cynthia Forlini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Death ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Organ Support ◽  
Community Perceptions ◽  
Vital Organ

Double Effect Donation

2021 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-162
Author(s):  
Charles C. Camosy ◽  
Joseph Vukov
Keyword(s):  
Brain Death ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Double Effect ◽  
Natural Death

Double Effect Donation claims it is permissible for a person meeting brain death criteria to donate vital organs, even though such a person may be alive. The reason this act is permissible is that it does not aim at one’s own death but rather at saving the lives of others and because saving the lives of others constitutes a proportionately serious reason for engaging in a behavior in which one foresees one’s death as the outcome. Double Effect Donation, we argue, opens a novel position in debates surrounding brain death and organ donation and does so without compromising the sacredness and fundamental equality of human life. Summary: Recent cases and discussion have raised questions about whether brain death criteria successfully capture natural death. These questions are especially troubling since vital organs are often retrieved from individuals declared dead by brain death criteria. We therefore seem to be left with a choice: either salvage brain death criteria or else abandon current organ donation practices. In this article, we present a different way forward. In particular, we defend a view we call Double Effect Donation, according to which it is permissible for a person meeting brain death criteria to donate vital organs, even though such a person may be alive. Double Effect Donation, we argue, is not merely compatible with but grows out of a view that acknowledges the sacredness and fundamental equality of human life.

Chinese Pediatric Organ Donation With Scheduled Cardiac Arrest After Brain Death: A Novel China Classification Beyond Maastricht

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (10) ◽  
pp. 2836-2840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Wu ◽  
X. Gao ◽  
F. Chen ◽  
X. Tao ◽  
J. Cai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Arrest ◽  
Brain Death ◽  
Organ Donation

ETHICAL DEBATE OVER ORGAN DONATION IN THE CONTEXT OF BRAIN DEATH

Bioethics ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARY JIANG BRESNAHAN ◽  
KEVIN MAHLER
Keyword(s):  
Brain Death ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Ethical Debate

Organ Donation After Brain Death After Long-Term Left Ventricular Mechanical Support

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 815-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Firstenberg ◽  
Louis B. Louis ◽  
Chittoor B. Sai-Sudhakar ◽  
Benjamin C. Sun
Keyword(s):  
Brain Death ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Mechanical Support ◽  
Donation After Brain Death

Comparison of 1 vs 2 Brain Death Examinations on Time to Death Pronouncement and Organ Donation

Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 96 (10) ◽  
pp. e1453-e1461
Author(s):  
Panayiotis N. Varelas ◽  
Mohammed Rehman ◽  
Chandan Mehta ◽  
Lisa Louchart ◽  
Lonni Schultz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Death ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Organ Procurement ◽  
Tertiary Hospital ◽  
Consent Rate ◽  
Organ Procurement Organization ◽  
Time To Death ◽  
Elapsed Time

ObjectiveTo fill the evidence gap on the value of a single brain death (SBD) or dual brain death (DBD) examination by providing data on irreversibility of brain function, organ donation consent, and transplantation.MethodsTwelve-year tertiary hospital and organ procurement organization data on brain death (BD) were combined and outcomes, including consent rate for organ donation and organs recovered and transplanted after SBD and DBD, were compared after multiple adjustments for covariates.ResultsA total of 266 patients were declared BD, 122 after SBD and 144 after DBD. Time from event to BD declaration was longer by an average of 20.9 hours after DBD (p = 0.003). Seventy-five (73%) families of patients with SBD and 86 (72%) with DBD consented for organ donation (p = 0.79). The number of BD examinations was not a predictor for consent. No patient regained brain function during the periods following BD. Patients with SBD were more likely to have at least 1 lung transplanted (p = 0.031). The number of organs transplanted was associated with the number of examinations (β coefficient [95% confidence interval] −0.5 [−0.97 to −0.02]; p = 0.044), along with age (for 5-year increase, −0.36 [−0.43 to −0.29]; p < 0.001) and PaO2 level (for 10 mm Hg increase, 0.026 [0.008–0.044]; p = 0.005) and decreased as the elapsed time to BD declaration increased (p = 0.019).ConclusionsA single neurologic examination to determine BD is sufficient in patients with nonanoxic catastrophic brain injuries. A second examination is without additional yield in this group and its delay reduces the number of organs transplanted.

Brain Death and Organ Donation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas I. Cochrane
Keyword(s):  
Brain Death ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Cardiac Death ◽  
Donation After Cardiac Death ◽  
Donation After Brain Death ◽  
Brain Death Determination ◽  
Brain Dead ◽  
American Academy Of Neurology ◽  
Death Determination

Brain death is the state of irreversible loss of the clinical functions of the brain. A patient must meet strict criteria to be declared brain dead. They must have suffered a known and demonstrably irreversible brain injury and must not have a condition that could render neurologic testing unreliable. If the patient meets these criteria, a formal brain death examination can be performed. The three findings in brain death are coma or unresponsiveness, absence of brainstem reflexes, and apnea. Brain death is closely tied to organ donation, because brain-dead patients represent approximately 90% of deceased donors and thus a large majority of donated organs. This review details a definition and overview of brain death, determination of brain death, and controversy over brain death, as well as the types of organ donation (living donation versus deceased donation), donation after brain death, and donation after cardiac death. A figure presents a comparison of organ donation after brain death and after cardiac death, and a table lists the American Academy of Neurology Criteria for Determination of Brain Death. This review contains 1 highly rendered figure, 3 table, and 20 references.

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