James M. DuBois

About the author: James M. DuBois is a medical doctor and associate professor of health care ethics at St. Louis University.

Most organs for transplant come from donors who suffer a sudden death after a traumatic head injury. This allows physicians to quickly declare the patients' death and remove organs before they are damaged. However, most people die more slowly—by the time physicians declare the patients dead, their organs are not suitable for transplant. Proposals to give doctors more flexibility in determining time of death raise fears that doctors may rush to declare death in order to procure organs from donors. However, it may be possible to design a system in which patients on life...