Brain dead Patients: Critically Ill or Dead? A Potential Answer to the Problem

Purpose: To evaluate whether current clinical criteria and confirmatory tests for the diagnosis of "brain death" satisfy the requirements for irreversible cessation of functions of the entire brain including the brain stem.

Methods: a) Presentation of known arguments from the medical and philosophical literature as well as several novel arguments. b) Suggestion for the application of PET into the research of "brain death" concept which might shed additional light on this subject.

Results: There are self-evident inconsistencies and contradictions inherent in the concept of "brain death" according to which this concept is invalid.

Conclusion: It seems unavoidable that the "brain death" concept should be abandoned.

Author(s):

Konstantine G Karakatsanis

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