In the talk given by Dr. Joe Vukov, the idea of what brain death is was discussed. There is a distinction between the body going on and persisting and the actual person being dead. While some believe that brain death is not truly death, the evidence shows that irreversible brain damage with the cessation of all brain function fits the criteria for death. Dr. Vukov detailed different definitions of terms commonly used when talking about this subject and discussed when it is appropriate to use them.
In relation to to the topic of brain death, there was a woman in Portugal who suffered an asthma attack which ended in her being pronounced brain dead. At the time, this woman was “19 weeks and was put in an induced coma” (BBC). The family opted to keep the woman’s body alive in order to allow the fetus to grow inside of her until it could survive outside of the womb. This subject of keeping a body alive in order to be used for someone else is a very complex issue. In Portugal, there is a “presumed-consent organ donation law” in which the mother had never opted out so the family and hospital was legally allowed to keep her body alive.
This situation relates to Dr. Vukov’s presentation, in which the concept of if it was right to use the woman’s body in order to keep the baby alive or not. Since this issue is complex and multi-faceted there is no one clear answer to what is to be allowed. The idea of whole body organ donation is an interesting idea that separates the body from the person. When a patient is declared brain dead, the body is able to be kept alive through artificial interventions to support another being, just like in singular organ donation cases.
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