Evolution of criteria for determination of brain death in Japan

Summary

In 1974, the Japanese EEG Society's Ad Hoc Committee on Brain Death published criteria for determining brain death only in cases of acute gross primary brain lesions. In 1983, a new brain death study group was organized to re-evaluate these criteria. During a 6-month period from March 1, 1984, 217 neurosurgical and neurological clinics and emergency services throughout Japan reported 718 brain deaths caused not only by primary lesions but also by secondary brain lesions and diagnosed as such on the basis of the 1974 criteria excluding the condition of “abrupt fall of blood pressure followed by persistent hypotension”. The data derived from the 718 cases in this collaborative study were pooled and analyzed, and it became known that the 1974 criteria still are generally reliable. Some changes have been made, however, and new criteria for determination of brain death adopted.