Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T08:20:55.361Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Death Is Just Not What It Used to Be

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2009

JAMES N. KIRKPATRICK ,
KARA D. BEASLEY  and
ARTHUR CAPLAN
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

It is said there are only two things in life that are certain: death and taxes … maybe only taxes.

Type
Special Section: Open Forum
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 7 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. President's Council on Bioethics. Controversies in the Determination of Death. 2008, Dec; available at www.bioethics.gov/reports/death/index.html (last accessed 13 Mar 2009).

2. Steinbrook R. Organ donation after cardiac death. New England Journal of Medicine 2007;357(3):209–13; Organ Donation after Cardiac Death [video symposium]. New England Journal of Medicine 359;2008; available at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/data/359/7/669/DC1/1 (last accessed 20 Aug 2008).

3. O death, when is thy sting? The Economist. 2008 Oct 2; available at www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?source=hptextfeature&story_id=12332939 (last accessed 3 Oct 2008).

4. Powner DJ, Ackerman BM, Grenvik A. Medical diagnosis of death in adults: Historical contributions to current controversies. Lancet 1996;348:1219–23.

5. Adhiyaman V, Adhiyaman S, Sundaram R. The Lazarus phenomenon. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2007;100:552–7.

6. See note 4, Powner et al. 1996.

7. Dalrymple T. Premature burial. British Medical Journal 2007;334:99.

8. To stop premature burial. New York Times, 1899 Jan 19.

9. Mollaret P, Coulon M. Le coma depasse. Revue neurologique 1959;101(1):3–15.

10. See note 4, Powner et al. 1996.

11. Report of the ad hoc committee of the Harvard Medical School to examine the definition of brain death. JAMA 1968;205:337–40.

12. Conference of Royal Colleges and Their Faculties in the United Kingdom. Diagnosis of brain death. British Medical Journal 1976;2:1187–8.

13. Medical Consultants on the Diagnosis of Death to the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Guidelines for the determination of death. JAMA 1981;246(19):2184–6.

14. Greer DM, Varelas PN, Haque S, Wijdicks EFM. Variability of brain death determination guidelines in leading US neurologic institutions. Neurology 2008;70:284–9.

15. Adhiyaman V, Adhiyaman S, Sundaram R. The lazarus phenomenon. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2007;100(12):552–7; Maleck WH, Piper SN, Triem J, Boldt J, Zittel FU. Unexpected return of spontaneous circulation after cessation of resuscitation (Lazarus phenomenon). Resuscitation 1998;39(1–2):125–8.

16. Alam HB, Duggan M, Li Y, Liu B, Tabbara M, Demoya M, et al. Putting life on hold—for how long? Profound hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass in a Swine model of complex vascular injuries. Journal of Trauma 2008;64(4):912–22; Wu X, Drabek T, Tisherman SA, Henchir J, Stezoski SW, Culver S, et al. Emergency preservation and resuscitation with profound hypothermia, oxygen, and glucose allows reliable neurological recovery after 3 h of cardiac arrest from rapid exsanguination in dogs. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 2008;28(2):302–11.

17. Tanno K, Itoh Y, Takeyama Y, Nara S, Mori K, Asai Y. Utstein style study of cardiopulmonary bypass after cardiac arrest. American Journal of Emergency Medicine 2008;26(6):649–54; Chen YS, Lin JW, Yu HY, Ko WJ, Jerng JS, Chang WT, et al. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation with assisted extracorporeal life-support versus conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation in adults with in-hospital cardiac arrest: An observational study and propensity analysis. Lancet 2008;372:554-61; Chen YS, Yu HY, Huang SC, Lin JW, Chi NH, Wang CH, et al. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support can extend the duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Critical Care Medicine 2008;36(9):2529–35.

18. See note 2, Steinbrook 2007.

19. Prendergast TJ, Luce JM. Increasing incidences of withholding and withdrawal of life support from the critically ill. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 1997;155(1):15–20.

20. Powner DJ, Bernstein IM. Extended somatic support for pregnant women after brain death. Critical Care Medicine 2003;31(4):1241–9.

21. Hohenegger M, Vermes M, Mauritz W, Redl G, Sporn P, Eiselsberg P. Serum vasopressin levels in polyuric brain-dead organ. European Archives of Psychiatry and Neurologic Science 1990;239:267–9; Shewmon DA. Chronic “brain death.” Meta-analysis and conceptual consequences. Neurology 1998;51:1538–45.

22. Bernat JL. How much of the brain must die in brain death? Journal of Clinical Ethics 1992;3:21–6.

23. Green MB, Wikler D. Brain death and personal identity. Philosophy and Public Affairs 1980;9:105–33; Truog RD, Fackler JC. Rethinking brain death. Critical Care Medicine 1992;20(12):1705–13.

24. See note 2, Steinbrook 2007.

25. Truog RD. Brain death—Too flawed to endure, too ingrained to abandon. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 2007;35(2):273–81.

26. See note 1, President's Council on Bioethics 2008.

27. White RJ. The artificial organ's last frontier. Artificial Organs 2004;28(5):437–8.

28. Allen BS, Castellá M, Buckberg GD, Tan Z. Conditioned blood reperfusion markedly enhances neurologic recovery after prolonged cerebral ischemia. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2003;126(6):1851–8.

29. Yamamoto T, Katayama Y. Deer brain stimulation therapy for the vegetative state. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation 2005;15(3/4):406–13.

30. Schiff ND, Giacino JT. Behavioral improvements with thalamic stimulation after severe traumatic brain injury. Nature 2007;448:600–3.

31. Arnold RM, Youngner SJ. The dead donor rule: Should we stretch it, bend it, or abandon it? Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 1993;3(2):263–78; Truog RD, Miller RG. The dead donor rule and organ transplantation. New England Journal of Medicine 2008;359(7):674–5.

32. Committee on Non-heart-beating Transplantation II. The Scientific and Ethical Basis for Practice and Protocols, Division of Health Care Services, Non-heart-beating Organ Transplantation. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2000; Childress JF, Liverman CT, eds. Organ Donation: Opportunities for Action. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2006.

33. Boucek MM, Mashburn C, Dunn SM, Frizell R, Edwards L, Pietra B, et al. Pediatric heart transplantation after declaration of cardiocirculatory death. New England Journal of Medicine 2008;359(7):709–14.

34. Ethics Committee, American College of Critical Care Medicine, Society of Critical Care Medicine. Recommendations for nonheartbeating organ donation. Critical Care Medicine 2001;29(9):1826–31.

35. Siminoff LA, Burant C, Youngner SJ. Death and organ procurement: Public beliefs and attitudes. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 2004;14(3):217–34.

36. Eiser AR, Weiss MD. The underachieving advance directive: Recommendations for increasing advance directive completion. American Journal of Bioethics 2001;1:W10; Stetler KL, Elliott BA, Bruno CA. Living will completion in older adults. Archives of Internal Medicine 1992;152:954–9.

37. Sánchez-Fructuoso AI, Marques M, Prats D, Conesa J, Calvo N, Pérez-Contín MJ, et al. Victims of cardiac arrest occurring outside the hospital: A source of transplantable kidneys. Annals of Internal Medicine 2006;145:157–64.

38. Stein R. NY planning special ambulance to recover organs. Washington Post 2008 May 24:A01.

39. See note 33, Boucek et al. 2008.

40. DeVita M, Caplan AL. Caring for organs or for patients? Ethical concerns about the uniform anatomical gift act. Annals of Internal Medicine 147;2007:876–9.

41. National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, 2006. Chicago: National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws; 2006.