The 2018 Annual Bioethics Conference explored the legacy of the 1968 report from the Harvard Medical School committee that proposed the concept of “brain death” as a new criterion for determining human death, making possible the procurement of “living” organs from bodies deemed to be “dead.”

The conference explored how this report facilitated the development of organ transplantation, assessed current practices, and examined persistent controversies and challenges to the scientific and philosophical foundations of this concept. Participants considered future strategies for facilitating the ethical procurement of organs for transplantation, and the impact of new technologies—such as gene editing and 3-D printing—that could radically alter the relevance of brain death as a concept necessary for organ procurement.

About the Conference

The Harvard Medical School Annual Bioethics Conference convenes leaders in the field to explore ethical questions and concerns in healthcare. Held each April, this conference facilitates conversations among experts, and supports members of ethics committees, health care professionals, bioethicists, administrators, attorneys, and others who are interested in addressing ethical issues.

The Harvard Annual Bioethics Conference was hosted and organized by the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School and co-sponsored by the Hastings Center and the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School with support from the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund at Harvard University.

Agenda

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Evening Public Forum: Brain Death and the Controversial Case of Jahi McMath

• Moderator: Robert Truog, MD – A brief summary of the case
• D. Alan Shewmon, MD – A neurologist’s view
• Arthur L. Caplan, PhD – A bioethicist’s view
• Michele Goodwin, JD – A social scientist’s view

Thursday, April 12, 2018

7:45 – 8:30am, Registration and Breakfast

8:30 – 10:15am, The Harvard Report: 1968

• Moderator: Mildred Solomon, EdD – Introduction
• Galen Henderson, MD – The clinical diagnosis of brain death
• Gary Belkin, MD, MPH, PhD – Historical reflections on the Harvard Committee
• Everett Mendelsohn, PhD – Comments from Invited Guests
• Scott Podolsky, MD – The Harvard Beecher Archives

10:15 – 10:30am, Break

10:30 – 12:00pm, Brain Death: 1968-2018

• Moderator: Christine Mitchell, RN, MS, MTS
• The 1981 President’s Commission and the UDDA
  • Alexander Capron, LLB
  • Daniel Wikler, PhD
• Robert Veatch, PhD – Brain death: historical and philosophical reflections

12:00 – 1:00pm, Lunch

1:00 – 2:30pm, Is brain death a coherent and justified concept for determining death?

• Moderator: Lainie Ross, MD, PhD
• James L. Bernat, MD – Yes, brain death is a coherent and justified concept for determining death
• D. Alan Shewmon, MD – No, brain death is not a coherent and justified concept for determining death

2:30 – 2:45pm, Break

2:45 – 5:00pm, Brain Death and the Law

• Moderator: Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD
• Thaddeus Pope, PhD, JD – Hard cases and legal challenges
• Pablo de Lora, PhD – Brain death and the law: international perspectives
• Robert Tasker, MBBS, MD – Separating Determination from Declaration
• Is Informed Consent necessary before brain death testing?
  • No – David Greer, MD
  • Yes – Robert Truog, MD

Friday, April 13, 2018

8:30 – 10:30am, Using the other half of the UDDA: Determining death by circulatory criteria

• Moderator: Mildred Solomon, EdD
• Sam Shemie, MD – Determining death: scientific aspects
• Francis Delmonico, MD – The controlled DCDD donor
• Ivan Ortega-Deballon, PhD, LLB, NP – The uncontrolled DCDD donor
• James L. Bernat, MD – Are DCD donors dead? Yes
• Ari Joffe, MD – Are DCD donors dead? No

10:30 – 10:45am, Break

10:45am – 12:15pm, Defining death and public policy

• Moderator: Robert Truog, MD
• Lainie Ross, MD, PhD – Individual choice in definitions of death
• Seema Shah, JD – Death as a “legal fiction”
• Courtney Campbell, PhD – Religious views on the definition of death

12:15 – 1:15pm, Lunch

1:15 – 2:45pm, The dead donor rule

• Moderator: Lainie Ross, MD, PhD
• David Magnus, PhD – The dead donor rule: ethical and legal foundations
• David Rodriguez-Arias, PhD – A critique of the dead donor rule
• Michael Nair-Collins, PhD – The dead donor rule: public perceptions and attitudes

2:45 – 3:00pm, Break

2:45 – 3:00pm, The Future of Transplantation: Organs without human donors

• Moderator: Robert Truog, MD
• George Church, PhD – Organ transplantation without human donors: genetically modified organs from pigs
• Lesley Sharp, PhD – Transplantation and new technologies
• Sheila Jasanoff, JD, PhD – Ethics of innovation