Brain Death Definition

A heart monitor beeps in the background; a ventilator hums next to a seemingly sleeping patient. This patient is sustained by the ventilator and has no brain activity. Are they alive or dead? With the controversy over the definition of death there are multiple “definitions”. Out of these definitions the most logical is that of the whole-brain death definition. In the medical world today there is not much conversation, though within the media and public the issue is very large as these are the people that it affects. It is very important to understand the background of the definition process and how it is greatly affected by organ transplants as well as what main definitions are presented to the public. Traditionally, before mankind created
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The use of whole brain death is most humane for the families, public, and person who is “dead”. The person would need a ventilator to stay breathing and this would drain money from the insurance and families to keep the person breathing. The person will not recover their brain function if they are declared brain dead using the newest medical criteria. When the body is kept alive while the brain is dead, insurance companies and families would have to continue paying for the continuing treatment of a brain dead person. To prevent the waste of resources on a person who has no chance of recovering it is best to forgo “life support” and let the organs be harvested. For the reason of no recovery the whole-brain definition has been accepted by societies throughout the world (Bernat, 2006, p. 35-43). Increasingly precise brain imaging techniques call for redefinition of death in terms of whole or higher-brain death instead of using the original somatic death as an indicator (Blank, 2001, p. 191-202). Today, medical professionals that gather organs use whole-brain death. It is the most appropriate definition. The people should accept this definition to keep the hospitals clear and insurance companies safe in the regards of refusing to pay medical coverage. Also, since the whole-brain death definition is most beneficial to the organs that are to be transplanted it is best to continue to use this