0603 - The Construction of Death - EG Flashcards
What is death defined as in Australian law?
either (1) the irreversible cessation of circulation of blood in the body of the person or (2) irreversible cessation of all function of the brain of the person (NHMRC)
How was death defined before the 19th century?
by putrefaction (the final decay of the body. the undecayed body was declared not completely dead, was even believed to have medicinal properties. partly due to fear of being buried alive.
Why has death moved from the heart to the brain?
(1) location of self-hood - mind over heart (2) ability of technology to prolong life (3) reframing of dead body parts as useful for life for others
Who conducted the first heart transplant?
Christiaan Barnard, however the patient only survived 30 days.
What enabled the first successful kidney transplant in 1954?
The introduction of antibiotics.
What was the first transplant surgery?
skin grafts in India in the 1700s
What is required for the verification of brain death?
The work of two physicians of the following: (1) no evidence of brain function (2) loss of function not attributable to something else (3) brain injury sufficient to account for loss of function (4) no reflex actions (cough, gag, pupil, eye) (5) no attempt to breathe off respirator (due to high CO2 level) (6) repeat after 24 hours.
When was did the first cyclosporine appear?
1972
How did philosophical thought on the location of self-hood change over time?
Hippocratic - soul, is situated in the left chamber of the heart; to Cartesian - “I think therefore I am”
Discuss the attitudes to death in Japan to USA
Attitudes in Japan based on death as a social event with spirit and physical wholeness to USA as an individual event with spirit and body separateness. Japan: Dr Wada was charged (though dismissed) double murder in a heart transplant as had shorter life result to the congenital problem, to Dr Barnard in USA treated as a hero, even though similar outcome.
Why was it not until 1999 that Japan had its first transplant?
As brain death was not considered the definition of death in Japan until 1997, prior to this cessation of the heart was the definition of death, hence made transplant non viable.
How does medicine view death?
As an instant, not a process
