Discovery and Disquiet: Research on the Brain-Dead
Authors: John La Puma
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1988)

Editorials15 October 1988Discovery and Disquiet: Research on the Brain-DeadJohn La Puma, MDJohn La Puma, MDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-109-8-606 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptIn 1974 Willard Gaylin suggested that "neomorts would be particularly valuable for studying diseases of the blood" (1). Using brain-dead humans for experimentation, medical training, organ banking, and immunologic manufacturing was considered futuristic.That future is now. In this issue, Coller and colleagues report using a 78-year-old brain-dead man's circulatory and hematologic systems to evaluate a monoclonal antibody's effect on platelet aggregation (2). The authors suggest several "principles" for investigators who wish to use brain-dead patients for research. These suggestions include the investigators' nonparticipation in the determination of death, an Institutional Review Board (IRB) review, and the consent of the...References1. Gaylin W. Harvesting the dead—the potential for recycling human bodies. Harpers Magazine. September 1974;28. Google Scholar2. CollerScudderBergerIuliucci BLHJ. Inhibition of human platelet function in vivo with a monoclonal antibody: with observations on the newly dead as experimental subjects. Ann Intern Med. 1988;109:635-638. LinkGoogle Scholar3. La PumaSchiedermayerToulminMilesMcAtee JDSSJ. The standard of care: a case report and ethical analysis. Ann Intern Med. 1988;108:121-4. LinkGoogle Scholar4. Dickson D. Human experiment roils French medicine. Science. 1987;239:1370. CrossrefGoogle Scholar5. Maugh T. Blood substitute passes its first test. Science. 1979;206:205. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. CarsonFriasMelker RJR. Research with brain dead children. IRB: Rev Human Subjects Res. 1981;3:5-6. Google Scholar7. Casado de FriasBalboa de PazPerez Martinez MartinezPalacios Mestres EFAC. Inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone and the effect of lithium in its treatment. J Pediatr. 1980;96:153-5. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Fost N. Research on the brain dead. J Pediatr. 1980;96:54-6. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Robertson J. Research on the brain dead. IRB. 1980;4:4-6. CrossrefGoogle Scholar10. Smith D. On being queasy. IRB. 1980;4:6-8. CrossrefGoogle Scholar11. The President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Implementing Human Research Regulations: The Adequacy and Uniformity of Federal Rules and of their Implementation. U.S. Government Printing Office, Stock No. 040-000-471-8, Washington, 1983:39-41. Google Scholar12. Levine R. Ethics and Regulation of Clinical Research., 2d ed, Baltimore: Urban & Schwarzenberg; 1986:79-80. Google Scholar13. Capron A. Human Experimentation. Biolaw, University Publications of America, 217-52, 1986. Google Scholar14. Martyn R. Using the brain dead for medical research. Utah Law Review. 1986;1:1-28. Google Scholar15. YoungnerAllenBartlett SME Psychosocial and ethical implications of organ retrieval. N Engl J Med. 1985;313:321-4. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar16. ProttasBatten JH. Health professionals and hospital administrators in organ procurement: attitudes, reservations, and their resolutions. AJ Public Health. 1988;78:642-5. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar17. California man's heart is transplanted without permission. The New York Times, April 24, 1988; Part 1:14. Google Scholar18. Powers of Attorney for Health Care Law. Illinois Ann Stat. ch 110 ½, para 804-1 (Smith-Hurd 1988). Google Scholar19. Guthrie D. A History of Medicine. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott; 1946:270. Google Scholar20. Packard F. History of Medicine in the United States. v 2. New York: Hafner Publishing Company; 1963:783-4. Google Scholar21. Callahan D. Setting Limits—Medical Goals in an Aging Society. New York: Simon & Schuster; 1987. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Lutheran General Hospital Park Ridge, Illinois PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byEnrolling Brain-Dead Humans in Medical Research: Stakeholder OpinionsEthics guidelines for research with the recently deadRecovery from “Brain Death”: A Neurologist's ApologiaEin Spezialfall: Der Gehirntod bei SchwangerenEthical Issues in Brain Death and Multiorgan TransplantationResearch on Dead PersonsAkira Akabayashi, MD, Masahiro Morioka, MAResearch on Brain-Dead PatientsRobert Baker, PhD 15 October 1988Volume 109, Issue 8Page: 606-608KeywordsBloodBrain diseasesForecastingInstitutional review boardsInterleukinsPlatelet aggregation Issue Published: 15 October 1988 PDF downloadLoading ...