Informed Consent Should Be Required before Brain Death Testing

Abstract

Informed consent is an important principle in medicine. It protects patients and their families from being unduly pressured into procedures they do not understand with risks they may not fully appreciate. While organ donor status is near ubiquitous for anyone with a driver’s license or ID card, rarely is this status accepted with fully informed consent. As a result, patients are left vulnerable to tests that may cause them irrevocable harm or even procedures that may cause their death. The test for brain death is an example of the former possibility. This article explores the dangers of this and the apnea test, as well as the lack of informed consent present when organ donor agreements are generally made.