Human Growth and Development / Unit 17 HGD 2403 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
The Uniform Determination of Death Act
The idea
The Uniform Determination of Death Act, endorsed by a presidential commission in nineteen eighty-one and adopted by most states, defines death in two ways: irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brainstem. Either must be determined by accepted medical standards.
In practice
A family told that their relative, still on a ventilator with a beating heart, has died, because all brain function, brainstem included, has irreversibly stopped.
Where people slip
The misconception is that a brain-dead person is in a coma. A person in a coma is alive; a brain-dead person is legally dead. Standards vary: New Jersey allows a religious exemption from brain death, so a person could be legally alive in one state and dead in another. Exam items ask what brain death requires: all functions of the entire brain, not part of it.
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