Issue Of Brain Death Research Articles

Nurses' knowledge of the brain death adjudication procedure

Introduction: The issue of brain death is an extremely important puzzle for the world of medicine. Nursing care for a potential donor is considered a priority of the process, from the diagnosis of brain death to the donation and transplantation of the organ. The aim of the research was to assess the level of knowledge of nurses about the procedure of adjudication of brain death Material and methods: An online survey among 206 nurses associated on social networking sites. The research tool was the original questionnaire. Results and conclusions: Nursing care for a potential donor requires specialist knowledge and experience. The level of knowledge of the respondents about brain death and the applicable transplant law is not differentiated due to socio-demographic factors. The respondents have knowledge of the legal regulations in force in the area of ​​the death adjudication procedure.

The challenge of death and ethics of social consequences: Death of moral agency

Abstract The present paper focuses on the issue of death from the perspective of ethics of social consequences. To begin with, the paper summarizes Peter Singer’s position on the issue of brain death and on organ procurement related to the definition of death. For better understanding of the issue, an example from real life is used. There are at least three prominent sets of views on what it takes to be called dead. All those views are shortly presented and analysed. Later, the theory of ethics of social consequences is briefly presented. The paper looks for the position of this ethical theory in connection to the issue of death. The issue of organ procurement, which is closely connected to the problem of defining death, is used as a means for a better understanding of the issue. The issue of death is studied through the categories of moral subject and moral object. Using the standpoint of ethics of social consequences enables us to distinguish between the death of a moral agent and the death of the organism. That helps to soften many issues associated with the topic.

Cross-Cultural Dimensions of the Problems of Brain Death and Organ Donation

Some of the current scientific and technological achievements in fields of intensive care and organ transplantation cast doubts about validity of the concept of brain death. During the last decade, such doubts were expressed by such researchers as D. Shewmon; R. Veatch, S. Youngner, E. Bartlett, etc. At the same time we are witnessing rather wide spread of negative stereotypes in relation to the concept of "brain death" among public in general. It causes the decline in organ harvesting and rather often becomes a reason for seeking new arguments in favor of legitimacy of the brain death concept. Current controversies and disagreements on the issue of brain death cause the need for uniform criteria for neurological determination of death. However, the search for common criteria for brain death is faced with the problem of socio-cultural determination of death, significant differences in the interpretation of death, suffering, dying. Thus, the problem of the legitimacy of death is closely related not only with scientific and technological developments, but to the influence of socio-cultural contexts on the understanding and perception of different definitions and criteria of death. So, death of a human should be investigated not only as a biological event, but as a social and cultural construct as well. In this regard we are going: - To use procedures of mapping for presenting positions and interests of different stakeholders in the field of harvesting and use of human organs for transplantation. These maps will allow to present different existing cultural traditions, as well as views of medical professionals, philosophers and lay people on donation of organs for transplant purposes, understanding of the concept of brain death, attitudes towards biomedical professionals involved in transplantological practices; - to trace and to evaluate practical and moral consequences of these positions (and of application of the corresponding biomedical technologies) on provision of health care and protection of universal human values and rights; - to discuss different possibilities and to share experience of moral and legal regulation in the area. Study was carried out with financial support from Russian Science Foundation, Project No. 17-18-01444.

脳死・臓器移植問題への提言(第8回日本生命倫理学会年次大会セッション「脳死・臓器移植」)

脳死・臓器移植問題への提言(第8回日本生命倫理学会年次大会セッション「脳死・臓器移植」)

Le principe d'intégrité comme droit naturel

Japanese philosophers encountered “bioethics” in the late 1980s. Young scholars in that period started to read bioethics literatures, and translated important works written in English. However, some scholars, including me, were very frustrated with their discussion because it was heavily influenced by analytic philosophy, and seemed to lack the examination of realities ordinary people would face in their everyday lives. Since then, I have tried to create a new philosophical approach that could grasp bioethical issues from various angles, which had been sometimes overlooked in the field of academic bioethics. For example, concerning the issue of brain death, I have stressed the importance of “human relationship oriented approach to brain death.” I gave the explanation why family members sometimes felt that a beloved one was still alive in the state of brain death, using such concepts as “intercorporality” and “presentation.” This finding made me think that the “personhood argument,” which has been widely accepted in the bioethics community, was theoretically flawed, that is to say, it did not explain the multi-layered reality of the concept of a human person. Then I gradually began to realize that the human relationship oriented approach should include, theoretically speaking, the relationship between the discussed subject and the researcher him/herself. It became clear when I discuss abortion from the perspective of feminist bioethics. Morioka, the author of this paper, is a male. The more I read feminist literatures, the more I came to think that what was really needed was not to read feminist arguments but to think abortion from my own point of view as a male who might force women to abort their fetuses. This realization led me to the development of a new approach, a “life studies approach” to bioethics. In this paper, I will try to illustrate why such an approach was required when dealing with bioethical issues, and to illustrate what kind of influence it could have on future philosophy and ethics. The life studies approach has created two important concepts, namely, “fundamental sense of security” and “painless civilization.” The fundamental sense of security is the feeling that one’s existence is welcomed unconditionally, and painless civilization is a driving force that tends to erode this kind of feeling of security, both of which are extremely helpful to analyze the negative aspects of contemporary society with advanced science and technology. And finally, I would like to discuss a “philosophy of life” project I have proposed in recent years. It seems to me that it is time to cast a new light on questions of philosophy of life, such as “What is life and death?,” “What is the meaning of life?,” and “What is the difference between human life and the life of non-human creatures?” against the background of contemporary bioethics and environmental ethics. And I would like to discuss the significance and magnitude the philosophy of life project could have not only for academicians but also ordinary citizens who are overwhelmed by the “meaning of life” questions and anxieties arising from our complicated, materialistic society

Natural Right to Grow and Die in the Form of Wholeness: A Philosophical Interpretation of the Ontological Status of Brain-dead Children

AbstractIn this paper, I would like to argue that brain-dead small children have a natural right not to be invaded by other people even if their organs can save the lives of other suffering patients. My basic idea is that growing human beings have the right to grow in the form of wholeness, and dying human beings also have the right to die in the form of wholeness; in other words, they have the right to be protected from outside invasion, unless they have declared their wish to abandon that right beforehand. I call this the principle of wholeness. Natural rights, which were discussed by Hobbes and Locke in the 17th century, have to be extended to include the right to grow and die in the form of wholeness in the age of scientific civilization, where peripheral human lives are being threatened by aggressive biomedicine and other advanced technologies.

Brain death: Recent ethical and religious considerations in Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long history of medicine. The principles derived from core Islamic teachings provide a comprehensive moral, ethical, and legal framework for the practice of medicine. The issue of brain death has significant impact on the procurement of organs from cadavers. It is a major subject of debate and interest to bioscientisits, legal experts, religious scholars, and the general public. Laws related to the ethical and legal aspects of cadaver organ donation from the brain dead have not been defined in many Muslim countries. This report presents recent advances in Iranian law with regard to the ethics of organ transplantation and the definition of brain death.

"Brain Death," Death, and Personal Identity

AbstractThe issue of brain death touches directly on questions pertaining to our understanding of what it means to be human. Technological progress made possible the sustaining of signs of life in individuals who seem dead to the world. The concept of brain death was introduced to describe this phenomenon, and to answer some of the normative questions that were raised by it. In my article, I approach the problem of brain death with a focus on its temporal aspects. First I sketch out some general features of human life and death in terms of the theories of time of J. T. Fraser and G. Dux. Then I describe and analyze various definitions of brain death and criteria for its testing.The two most important variants are 'whole brain death' as the death of the organism, and 'cerebral death' as the death of the person. I discuss arguments in favor of, and against these concepts and analyze the framework and structuring of temporalities involved in each of them. I conclude that the extant theories in favor of 'brain death' are unsatisfactory, for factual and conceptual reasons. Most importantly, they neglect essential factors of personal identity. Because they employ a naturalistic concept of the human body, they fail to grasp its expressive quality and its function as a medium of communication. Furthermore, they fail to grasp the social dimension of personal identity. Because the concepts of 'brain death' as a criterion for the determination of death fail, we should regard brain-dead people as living human beings, and decide about their treatment accordingly.

Current considerations in the issue of brain death.

Brain death is an anatomically and physiologically complex process. The societal and psychological implications of brain death and organ donation are equally complex, and they have profound ramifications. Because the vast majority of organ donors die as a consequence of catastrophic intracranial processes, neurosurgeons are in a unique position to positively influence the supply of transplantable organs. Enhanced knowledge of the physiology of evolving brain death will improve the care of potential organ donors and increase the probability of successful transplantation. Likewise, better information about patient and family directives, beliefs, grieving, concurrent exposure to other health care workers, and experiences in the hospital environment will assist the neurosurgeon in providing the family with the opportunity for donation. Neurosurgeons can also play a leading role in the multidisciplinary approach required to support the families of potential organ donors during the transition from neurointerventional therapy to somatic support. New federal regulations on organ donation and a review of the literature about the "art of asking" are presented.