The Apnea Test
THE APNEA TEST: USED TO DETERMINE "BRAIN DEATH," IT CAN CAUSE DEATH By Paul A. Byrne, M.D. The Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) states that a person who has sustained "irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem," is dead. While these words are ...
Premature Brain Death Diagnosis
Below are recent articles covering cases of premature declaration of "brain death" that force relatives to face serious challenges in their attempts to give the patients more time to show signs of recovery. Hospitals are Quick to Declare Patients Brain Dead to Harvest Their Organs. Here’s Why 6/16/16 by ...
Organ Donation Q & A
Organ donation refusal may save your life The human body, alive or dead, may never be treated as property or a commodity. This moral principle applies equally to persons who donate organs and to governments, organizations and individuals who encourage organ donation for the benefit of the sick. Though the ...
Unexpected Recoveries
Some patients are prematurely declared dead or too far gone to benefit from medical treatment. Also, many patients are diagnosed to be permanently unconscious when, in fact, such diagnoses are sometimes mistaken. These patients actually may have a condition called locked-in syndrome, which means a person is aware of what ...
May We Donate Our Organs?
OCTOBER 29, 2014 BY DRS. JAY BOYD AND PAUL A. BYRNE It is likely that most Catholics consider the question of the morality of organ donation to be a settled matter, and to view it as a noble and generous gesture on the part of donors. After all, the Catechism ...
Questions and Answers: Critical Medical Decisions
Whether serious health issues develop gradually or suddenly, facing critical medical decisions creates the need for information on many unfamiliar topics such as: hospice care, feeding tubes, ventilators, CPR, life support, brain death, organ donation, pain control, futile care, palliative care, advance directives, living wills, durable power of attorney for ...
Organ Donation: Crossing the Line
Linking the "right to die" with organ donation has opened a terrible Pandora's Box In the US, whether we are renewing our drivers’ licenses, watching the TV news or just picking up a newspaper, it’s impossible to miss the campaign to persuade us to sign an organ donation card. We ...
Statement Opposing Brain Death Criteria
Below is a position statement, signed by over 120 people from 19 nations, including physicans, philosophers, and theologians, opposing brain death criteria for human death. It has been released through the auspices of Earl Appelby, Jr. of Citizens United Resisting Euthanasia ([email protected]; he would have the most updated list of ...