The New Death & The Medical Errors

Margaret Lock in her book "Twice Dead" discusses the new medical definition of death in North America and most of Europe. It is the"brain-death", when a patient suffers from irreversibly damaged brain and considered dead. She argues that this "new death"notion coincided with the development of the medical technology(the artificial ventilator) that assisted in keeping the organs of the brain-dead patient alive for procurement and transplant."The new death, with its ambiguous figure of the "living cadaver", has rekindled doubts about error and premature declarations of death."(p.75)

According to Lock, prior to the late 1960s, the death occurs when heart stops, but once the concept of brain death was recognized, brain-dead victims were counted as legally dead, even when their hearts continued beating. Therefore, the new death is a moment not a process. The limitation of the death notion raised "the fear of being counted dead before one's time and overhastily designated an organ donor."(p.78) Today, "Television and the newspapers regale us with accounts of people coming back to life after being determined dead."(p.69) The following are two cases of medical errors and premature declaration of death happened at North American hospitals.

In the article"Woman Awakens after 'Brain Death'", May 29,2008, A Virginia family was shocked but relieved when their mother, Val Thomas, woke up after doctors said she was dead. 59 year-old Mrs. Thomas, while being kept breathing artificially, had no detectable brain waves for more than 17 hours. The family were discussing organ donation options for their mother when she suddenly woke up and started speaking to nurses. http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=28081

Another story of premature death, "Dead man revived four months later", Mar 24,2008. At Oklahoma city, four months after he was declared brain dead and doctors were about to remove his organs for transplant, Zach Dunlap says he feels "pretty good." Dunlap,21, was pronounced dead November 19 at United Regional Health care System in Wichita Falls, Texas, after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident.His family approved having his organs harvested. As family members were paying their last respects, he moved his foot and hand. After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to return home, where he continues to work on his recovery. http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/350150

Some experts refer these medical errors to the confusion between "deep coma" and "brain death". This medical explanation and these premature declarations of death put doubt in the new notion of death and the medical judgment and bring up Lock's questions on what constitutes biological death and whether brain death represents the end of human life, and is "death" a moment or a process? On the other hand, these stories stir up the fear that "the urgent need for organs might threaten the presumption that every effort should be made to preserve human life."(p.65) Physicians, bioethicists and governments continue to debate the issue of brain death criteria for purposes of organ transplants and determining the exact moment of death. This has been a source of contention since organ transplants became common.

Image 1: www.alz.org/brain/images/00a.jpg

Image 2: www.citynews.ca/news/news_18888.aspx