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历时二十年之久的有关脑死亡定义的争论现在已发展到一个新阶段。日本国会上周开始审议一项新的法案,此法案如果通过,将最终决定何时可把脑死亡(即大脑中电活动停止)视为人的死亡。这一死亡定义对医生们关系重大,因为它涉及到医生们为抢救病人生命而作的心脏和肝脏移植手术是否合法(这两类移植手术需要从脑死亡者身上取出仍然活着的心脏或肝脏)。该法案看来肯定能在国会通过。法案要求建立一个专门的调查小组研究脑死亡和器官移植问题。这个调查小组将仿照美国的一个机构——有关医学和生物医学及行为研究中的伦理
The controversy over the definition of brain death that lasted twenty years has now come to a new stage. Japan's parliament began reviewing a new act last week that, if passed, will ultimately determine when brain death (ie, cessation of electrical activity in the brain) can be considered a human death. This definition of death is of great importance to doctors as it relates to the legitimateness of the heart and liver transplants that doctors make to save the lives of patients who need to remove the still alive heart or liver from brain-dead individuals. The bill seems sure to pass the parliament. The bill calls for the establishment of a special investigation team to study brain death and organ transplant problems. The team will follow the example of an agency in the United States - ethics in medical and biomedical and behavioral research