AMA Journal of Ethics^®

Death’s legal definition must be responsive to advances in technology, and it must delineate between life and death. Knowing where to draw the line is difficult.

Criteria in statutes and tests used to diagnose brain death don’t always jibe, and this can undermine public trust in death pronouncements.

For many physicians, lack of understanding about brain death leads to confusion and muddles interactions with patients’ loved ones at the end of life.

Dr Ariane Lewis discusses how we can navigate uncertainty and ambiguity about brain death by understanding clinical criteria for brain death determination and how our approaches to death are culturally and socially situated.

Public awareness of brain death is based largely on inaccurate media representations. It’s no wonder so few of us understand brain death.

The DDR requires organ donors to be dead according to legal criteria prior to organ removal, and it’s rooted in fears of civil and criminal liability.

Two commentaries respond to a case about apnea testing to confirm death by neurologic criteria.

Which distinctions between minimally conscious states and vegetative states should clinicians consider?

Hospital ethics committees originated with concerns about legal liability, but today they educate, develop and implement policies, and review cases.

In order to successfully resolve ethical conflicts, bioethics consultants must pay attention to process and heed stakeholders’ perspectives and values.