Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: lack of breathing

  • Death and the organ donor

    Karen DyerUnited Kingdom Historically the “death debate” has been long and intensive, and the definition of death has evolved over the centuries. The ancient civilizations looked for an “absence of a heartbeat” and a “lack of breathing.” By the eighteenth century, however, fears of a misdiagnosis of death led doctors to suggest that the only…