Uniform Law on Brain Death

Bloomberg recently published an opinion regarding the Uniform Definition of Brain Death, A Scary Plan to Revise the Definition of Death. "People may be less willing to agree to be organ donors if they believe the quest for organs changes how patients are treated."

According to the article, the Uniform Law Commission has a study committee, looking at "the need for and feasibility of updating the Uniform Determination of Death Act (1980), which has been enacted in 44 states. Issues to be considered include lack of uniformity in the medical standards used to determine death by neurologic criteria, the relevance of hormonal functions, and whether notice should be provided before a determination of death."

The Bloomberg article mentions an opinion piece published last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine which the Bloomberg article suggests is concerning.  The Bloomberg article examines the elements of the proposal and reviews the advantages of it, but also notes opposition to it. "Despite all the arguments in favor of the revisions, more than 100 experts in medicine, law, philosophy and bioethics have signed a statement of opposition...."

The article discusses the objections and how the proposal might reduce the amount of organ donations. The article is very interesting and if you could End of Life planning in your classes, this article gives you some thoughtful background.