Back To Main Page of Nasty Side of Organ Transplanting Go To Quote of the Week Archive The Legal and Medical Fiction Wendy Carlisle:    So is brain death the death of the person, in your opinion? Alan Shewmon: I used to think that it was. But in fact, during the 1980s and early 90s I read a number of articles and gave lectures supporting that idea, and since then I have had to change my opinion about it due to an accumulation of evidence to the contrary.... ....Wendy Carlisle: I think you’ve actually called somewhere the notion of brain death a medical fiction. Alan Shewmon: A legal fiction. Wendy Carlisle: A legal fiction. What does that mean, then, in your opinion for the whole donor debate? Alan Shewmon: I guess it’s also a medical fiction. You’re right. Alan Shewmon Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of California (Los Angeles) School of Medicine from "All In the Mind", Radio National Australian Broadcasting Corporation http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/s746719.htm Or go to http://www.abc.net.au/ then click on ABC RAdio, then Radio National and finally click on "All In The Mind"