Speaker: Michael Rubin, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurology-Neurocritical Care at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Abstract: The American Academy of Neurology 2023 Brain Death Practice Guideline is the third in a series of position papers designed to establish standards of practice for death determination by neurologic criteria. These guidelines have been shaped by the development and implementation of the Uniform Determination of Death Act as well as court cases and a rigorous debate in the neurology and ethics literature. The stakeholders are many and include clinicians, researchers, policy makers, lawyers, clergy, and philosophers. While some elements of this debate are resolved, many are left undecided. I am going to review the historic evolution of death determination, explain our current state, and then offer informed speculation as to what the future may bring.