The apnea test, part of the AAN's brain death examination, can increase brain damage Apnea testing is a component of the American Academy of Neurology’s guideline for the diagnosis of brain death/death by neurologic criteria. The intent of the apnea test is to evaluate for spontaneous breathing, but the test itself is unverified, has no benefit for the patient, and entails significant risks. In fact, the Guideline states that there is a lack of scientific evidence to support the recommended...

Watch Heidi Klessig MD and Becket Gremmels PhD debate the brain death concept in this wide-ranging video! We review the topic from the perspectives of biology, philosophy, theology, and law during our friendly interchange of ideas on this controversial subject. Thank you so much to the Society for Christian Bioethicists for providing this important forum for discussion, and to the Rose Bente Lee Ostapenko Center for Ethics in Medicine and Healthcare at Niagara University for sponsoring our...

Our new video premiers today at 6PM CST! The concept of brain death was proposed in 1968 without scientific validation as a utilitarian social construct to free up ICU beds and facilitate organ donation. Today, the diagnosis continues to be controversial. Doctors, lawyers, philosophers, and scholars hotly debate the validity of brain death, but the public remains largely unaware. Justice dictates that the public be given full transparency so that they can give valid informed consent to organ...