Hello, I'm an expert in medical ethics and law, with a focus on end-of-life care and the determination of death. When it comes to the declaration of death, it's a complex process that involves both medical and legal considerations. In general, a person is declared dead when they meet the legal and medical criteria for death. There are two main criteria that are widely accepted: cardiac death and brain death. 1. Cardiac Death: This is the traditional understanding of death, where a person is declared dead when their heart stops beating and they cease to breathe. This is also known as circulatory death. 2. Brain Death: This is a more modern concept, where a person is declared dead when there is **irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain**, including the brainstem. This includes the cessation of spontaneous breathing and responsiveness to pain. The determination of brain death involves a series of tests, which may include the apnea test (where the patient is disconnected from a ventilator to see if they can breathe on their own), the absence of brainstem reflexes, and the use of diagnostic imaging like a brain scan to confirm the absence of blood flow to the brain. It's important to note that **the criteria and tests for declaring death can vary by country and even by hospital**, and there may be additional legal requirements, such as the need for a second medical opinion or a waiting period before a declaration of death can be made. read more >>

The committee outlined specific neurological tests to be performed before declaring a person dead. This was known as "brain death" and became an alternative definition of death. Death might now be declared in two ways �� if a person's heart and lungs ceased functioning or if there was no brain activity.read more >>