NCBC Organizes Symposium on Brain Death
The NCBC is proud to be organizing a unique Symposium to enhance clarity and consistency in the determination of death according to neurologic criteria. This is of particular importance to the practice of organ donation and transplantation.
The need for a timely, focused, comprehensive study of this topic was first articulated by the NCBC in April 2024, following an unsuccessful effort to revise the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA), and the issuance of new clinical guidelines by the American Academy of Neurology et al., in the second half of 2023.
The Symposium is dedicated to reviewing the best evidence and arguments for, and getting to the bottom of, several key issues, including:
How/Can we ensure, with moral certitude, that patients determined to be dead by neurologic criteria are dead according to the standards of a sound Christian anthropology and the law?
How/Can testing protocols for brain death be improved to accurately, consistently, and efficiently identify which patients are dead by neurologic criteria and which are not?
What challenges might be encountered and appropriately addressed if implementing more rigorous clinical standards and protocols results in some delay to the process of vital organ recovery?
What ethical measures and resources are required to better uphold key ethical goods including patient dignity, informed consent, & respect for conscience?
This Symposium is designed and will be conducted to achieve fair representation of distinct positions, robust debate and dialogue among participants, and practical results.
For more information and to register, please visit the Symposium website.