What Does it Mean to be Human? Life, Death, Personhood and the Transhumanist Movement by D. John Doyle

Author:D. John Doyle
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9783319949505
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

5.18 Neomorts

A neomort is a brain-dead individual who still has a blood pressure and a pulse and is artificially ventilated by machine. Drug infusions are frequently used in addition to help maintain cardiovascular stability. In most cases neomorts are brought to an operating room for organ retrieval, after which ventilation is discontinued and the heart eventually stops. (Note that in most cases a formal declaration of brain death is not done on a brain damaged patient unless organ retrieval is being considered.)

However, a neomort might be of value beyond merely being a source of organs for transplantation . For example, a marginal organ (or a good organ not normally transplanted or not needed for transplantation ) could conceivably still be retrieved for use in a research protocol, such as in studies of possible organ toxicity studies for new drugs. Another possible approach would to be to use an entire intact neomort as a research platform rather than to study individual organs. The importance of this possibility is reflected in the fact that drug testing using animal models have a number of serious limitations. For example, a number of drugs that tested safe on animals have proven to be harmful to humans (Vioxx and Rezulin are just two examples). Similarly, a number of drugs proven to be dangerous to animals are in fact safe for humans to use. As an everyday example, both chocolate and the popular drug Tylenol (acetaminophen, paracetamol) can be toxic to canines in doses that are completely safe for humans.12

Table 5.1 lists some possible research areas using neomorts . This approach might be appealing to individuals who are happy to serve as a research platform for an important question but are not enthusiastic about giving away any organs to needy recipients. In most cases, this would be for cultural or religious reasons. In addition, many animal rights activists would likely be pleased with any developments that would avoid the need for experiments involving animals. Table 5.2 lists some objections that might arise with the idea of research using neomorts (scenarios that need a pulse but not a brain).Table 5.1Some potential research areas involving neomorts

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