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 EEG is 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.

The question of how one can tell if a person is alive or dead has also been raised. The first thing to look at is a person's nose. If they are breathing through the nose than they are alive. Likewise, if they are breathing through the mouth than they are alive also. Thirdly, look at the heart to see if it is beating. Respiration equals the criteria for Jewish life. However, today as we live in a modern day world, people should not be so fast as to determine that a person is dead. Modern technology can shock a person back to life if they have stopped breathing or their heart has stopped beating and it is still important to call for the paramedics to come as quickly as possible if there is any chance of that person living.

Under the laws of the Sabbath, if a person has died and another person stumbles across the body, the body must be left there until after the Sabbath is over.

An interesting concept has been brought up to Jewish authorities and that is if a person is in a coma. If a person is in a coma, their life cannot be taken away and as my last paper stated, euthanasia is expressly prohibited. It is uncertain whether that person will wake up the next day, ten years later or never. However, there is that chance that the person will come back to life until he is pronounced as dead.

According to the Talmudic sage Rashi, there is a three prong test for determining if a person is dead or alive. The tests are to see if a person has any motion, any heartbeat, and any sign of breathing. If a person exhibits none of these characteristics of life than they are pronounced as dead. If there is any chance that the person might still be alive than everything must be done to save the person's life in case he is alive.