Huang Jiefu, China's vice minister of health believes that China
must enact a law on brain death. Experts assigned the task of
examining the issue by the Ministry of Health have now finished the
first draft of the diagnostic standards for defining brain death in
line with China's actual conditions. At present, they are
soliciting opinions of people from all walks of life.
Huang disclosed this important information during a recent
television interview. This is the first time for an official of the
Ministry of Health to publicly express support for a brain death
law since Chinese medical experts first appealed for such
legislation in 1986.
By
the end of 2000, among 189 member countries of the United Nations,
80 have accepted a standard for brain death, and such a concept now
represents the developing trend of advanced civilization in the
bio-medical field. China must speed up the enactment of the
relevant legislation, said Huang.
According to him, the diagnostic standard for brain death has been
clearly set since the 1980s. However, doctors cannot pronounce on
brain death of patients because there is no legislation to protect
them. With China's entry into many international organizations,
including the World Trade Organization and the World Health
Organization, as well as much economic development, it is very
important for it to now enact a brain death law in order to play a
larger world role in scientific fields.
Huang said the legislation would be a breakthrough in the concept
of death, which has lasted for thousands of years. However, the
diagnosis of brain death involves human life, so that, in order to
guarantee the diagnostic standard is scientific and practical as
well as feasible, Chinese experts have emphasized learning from the
successful experiences of other countries and the latest
achievements in the international study of brain death.
The legislation is a new subject for China's judiciary circles.
With the influence of tradition and religions, it takes some time
for Chinese people to accept the new concept of death. Therefore,
Huang Jiefu emphasized that the two concepts -- the stopping of the
heartbeat and brain death -- can co-exist. People could define
death through one or both, allowing the process to develop
gradually.
During the period of transition from the traditional concept,
related departments including Chinese Medical Association and China
Physicians Association should be well prepared for the following
aspects: to make sure of a strict diagnostic standard for brain
death; and to check up on technical standards as well as the
management procedure. The legislation of brain death can be carried
out only under this premise.
As
a doctor, Professor Huang Jiefu specially pointed out that brain
death is different from the human vegetable condition (where a
person is physically alive, but mentally inert). He said, most of
people will stop breathing and their heart will cease beating first
at the end of their life, but in five percent of cases, people will
appear to firstly suffer irreversible loss of all brain functions,
due to, say, brain injury and brain tumor as well as
cerebrovascular disease etc, which is brain death.
According to Huang, the brainstem of the human vegetable is normal.
Their coma is caused by severe damage to the brain cortex or in a
sudden inhibition status. Therefore the patients can continue to
breathe freely with a heartbeat and brainstem reaction. A few may
wake up some day.
He
cited a research report in Britain of 16 scholars who had
clinically diagnosed 1,036 people suffering brain death. Although
they did all they could to help, none of these patients returned
alive. The expense for trying to rescue one brain dead patient per
day is 10 even 100 times more than for an ordinary patient.
Confirming the concept of brain death and implementation of the
brain death law can terminate ineffective medical rescue efforts in
proper time and reduce the meaningless consumption of medical
resources. "Of course, the legislation of brain death is not only
for saving resources; people can die with more dignity by the
abandonment of ineffective rescue."
Huang said the brain death law would also be conducive to promoting
the medical development of organ transplant and enable thousands of
patients to have the chance for revitalization. At present, the
transplant of heart, liver and kidney in China has reached a
certain level in clinical experience. Due to the lack of the
legislation on brain death, however, the quality of organ supplies
is not as good as other countries. The normal procedures covering
organ resources are affected and disturbed. Due to suspicion over
the origin of organ suppliers, the scientific research and
achievements China has made in the clinical organ transplant field
are not recognized by the world. Related papers cannot be published
and some hostile forces may use the issue to circulate rumors and
distort the truth.
He
concluded that the legislation of brain death was a very serious
and cautious work. It is not due to the requirement of the Ministry
of Health or doctors but due to the requirement of social
development. He believed that China would speed up the legislation
and fulfill the important task with joint efforts from all
aspects.
(china.org.cn by Wang Qian, August 29, 2002)