Brain death: a finished discussion?

Abstract

This article is a narrative review of the main authors who establish objections to the use of the concept of brain death as a synonym for death. It focuses on their biological and philosophical inconsistencies of the concept and proposes the discussion of the topic using the epistemological concepts of Popper and Kuhn. The article adopts the concepts of biopower and biopolitics as tools in the analysis of brain death, especially in relation to the inevitable intersection with organ donation and transplants.

Brain death; Bioethics; Transplantation