The Defining Death Debate

Rob Stein
NPR
March 28, 2012

Proponents defend restarting circulation with the ECMO machine. "They are in fact dead," said Jeffrey D. Punch, director of the transplant center at the University of Michigan. Punch said of the patients, noting that circulation has only been restored with a machine and no one will try to revive the donors' hearts in any way. Doctors wait five minutes after the hearts stop beating to make sure the patients are really gone, he added.

Links:

A Struggle To Define 'Death' For Organ Donors, Rob Stein, NPR, March 28, 2012

Resuscitating the Dead Donor Rule, David Magnus, The Bioethics Channel, August 28, 2011

Transparency in Organ Donations

Supporters of the new rules argue that the guidelines will ensure that a patient's wish to donate his organs will be respected. Critics, however, state that the proposed changes run the risk of dehumanizing patients into mere sources for materials.

Links:

Catholic ethicist calls for transparency in organ donor controversy, Marianne Medlin
Catholic News Agency, September 24, 2011
Changes in controversial organ donation method stir fears, Washington Post, September 20
Resuscitating the Dead Donor Rule, David Magnus, The Bioethics Channel