College of Medicine

Associate Professor Michael Nair-Collins, Ph.D., authored a new article discussing bioethics titled “The Uniform Determinations of Death Act is Not Changing. Will Physicians Continue to Misdiagnose Brain Death?” In the article, Nair-Collins explains how brain death is routinely misdiagnosed, with common practice declaring some patients dead by neurologic criteria even though they do not meet the legal standard for death. Despite vigorous efforts to revise the Uniform Determinations of Death Act (UDDA), guidelines will not change in the foreseeable future. Thus, legally living people will continue to be declared dead, contributing to mistrust in the determination of death.