Jewish Law About Brain Death and the Criteria for Determining If a Person is Dead

The issue of organ transplant is an interesting subject under Jewish law and in some cases it is permissible while in others it is not. In 1968 the term "brain dead" was first used in Harvard medical school. In 1984 that term was affirmed to include any person who no longer registers any brain activity and is dead. The Harvard medical school created an Ad Hoc Committee to give a clearer definition on the term "brain dead." Their criteria are listed below.

The first criterion is that a person must have total unresponsiveness to any external stimuli or inner need. The second standard is for the person to have a complete absence of spontaneous movement or breathing. There was a discussion about a person's reflexes but this does not necessarily mean that a person is alive. However, this brings us to the forth criteria which is that a person registers no reflex movement. A test called an Electroencephalogram or EEGis administered to the patient to see if their reflexes are responding to determine if the person is alive.

The EEG test sends a signal to a person's brain which is then sent from the brain to the rest of the body. The nerve impulses from the brain are then analyzed on a computer data machine. If the lines on the screen are flat, this represents no brain activity at all. However, scientists and medical doctors have repeatedly said that this test is inconclusive and not a perfect test to determine if a person is alive. A person can be dead and still register brain activity of some kind.

There is also the issue of declaring a person brain dead who is hooked up to a respirator or heart machine. A person could be on a breathing machine and still be declared dead.

An issue has been discussed under Jewish law about the laws of the Sabbath. If a person's life is in danger or can be rescued by breaking a Sabbath law, then the law should be broke and the person should do whatever they can to save the person's life.