Policy should be balanced with concern for the family

摘要

The ethical and legal concept of brain stem death is still in transition in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. It has not yet been fully accepted by practitioners, by the general public, or by patients and their families. The concept of brain stem death as a neurological syndrome has only existed for the past 40 years or so, and as an ethical and legal concept (that is, brain stem death is death) it has existed only for 30 years. Many more years probably will go by until this concept reaches a high degree of medical and social acceptance.