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At Law: Brain Death and Organ Donation: You Can Have One without the Other

1988; Wiley; Volume: 18; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3562200

1552-146X

George J. Annas,

Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues

In Strachan v. John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital (1986), parents sued a hospital and medical personnel over the emotional harm they suffered when their son's body was withheld from them and maintained on life support for almost 72 hours after brain death was declared. After being told several times that their son was dead, and after declining to donate his organs, the parents were informed that pronouncement of death, discontinuation of life support, and release of the body depended on instructions from the hospital's administration. Annas summarizes the facts in the case and the decisions of the New Jersey trial, appellate, and Supreme courts. In his view, Strachan exemplifies "how hospital administrators and lawyers forge 'solutions' to medical practice 'problems' that are disconnected from biological reality and compassionate medical practice." He also believes that the case increases the public's confusion over brain death and organ donation.