Death I Do Not Believe

¶ … Death

I do not believe that I was ever aware that there were certain criteria for death. To my mind, death meant when all function in the brain and heart stopped. Because death is such a common occurrence, affecting all living things, the fact that there are criteria to ensure its nature is a little bizarre to me. However, when considering issues like the soul and the life that exists in individual cells, death becomes much more arbitrary than the simple end of a heartbeat or brain function. Furthermore, these considerations have not even given thought to spiritual aspect of living and dying. Physical death, to many, does not mean the end of life or awareness. For many, physical death means a transition into another type of life, where the soul survives. Furthermore, when considering the heartbreaking realities of those who have succumbed to accidents or illness to such an extent that machines mean the difference between any type of life and death for them, it is perhaps not so strange to require definitions of death, such as found in the chapter assigned as the reading for this reflection.

When reading the explanation of the need for guidance when it comes to physical death, I came to a closer understanding of the various meanings even of physical death. I am a little surprised that there are only five criteria to determine the status of a person regarding life or death. However, the specific criteria do make sense to me. Indeed, when there is no breathing, no demonstrable awareness or reflex, a person could indeed be said to be dead.

I do believe that the addition of EEG criteria, in terms of the final two criteria, is an important element in determining the nature of what has become known as "brain death." Indeed, these criteria make it easier to determine the potential ethical pitfalls of removing organs while the heart is stimulated to ensure that the organs remain viable until they can be removed and preserved outside the body. I do believe, therefore, that the Harvard criteria for determining brain death are a very important component of making decisions that affect individuals and families at the end of their lives.

When the EEG criteria are applied, for example, it might affect a family's decision to terminate artificial means of keeping a person alive, since there is no hope of revival. It could also affect the decision to donate organs.

One thing I found quite surprising was that the concept of "brain death" only became an official diagnostic category in 1981. The term has been used so often that it feels almost like it has been in existence for far longer than this. Still, I think I find it quite comforting that there are criteria to determine whether a person has indeed completely died, or whether the end of brain function could be recovered after ceasing because of drugs or seizures. One wonders how many misdiagnoses have been made of death over the millennia of human existence. The particular horror of being buried alive has been the subject of many a horror tale. It is comforting that the possibility of this has been significantly diminished with the implementation of elements such as the Harvard criteria.