Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie
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Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr · Nov 2002
Review[The diagnosis of brain death: medical and legal aspects with special reference to the German Transplantation Law (TPG)].
The diagnosis of brain death following total and irreversible cessation of all cerebral functions is based on anthropological assumptions and conventions as well as on the exact medical diagnosis of total loss of brain function. The question whether individual life ends after cerebral function is irreversibly lost cannot be answered by medical definition alone. Clear and unrefutable legal definitions of death and the cessation of the rights of the individual must be provided before organs may be harvested from brain dead individuals. ⋯ The prerequisites for entering the diagnostic procedure to determine brain death are described. The clinical signs of total and irreversible cessation of brain function are listed, and the technical examinations to corroborate the clinical signs of brain death as accepted in Germany are delineated. In the perspective of the authors, individuals having suffered brain death still possess the protection of their personal human rights according to the German constitution since it cannot be conclusively demonstrated that total loss of brain function alone constitutes the cessation of life in the sense of the German constitution.