PRAVNA PITANjA SMRTI ČOVEKA KAO USLOVA ZA TRANSPLANTACIJU ORGANA

Abstract

The concept of death - determining the moment when a person dies, is mostly in domain of medicine and natural sciences. However, this concept is not unknown to lawyers as well, particularly in the context of organ transplatation. Namely, one of the prerequisites for harvesting organs of the decesed, a potential organ donor, for transplantation purposes is that his death is diagnosed with certainty. In that context, the subject of the author's research is to review the current European supranational and national laws which regulate the issue of organ transplantation in relation to diagnosing the death of the organ donоr. In the first part of the paper, the author reviews the importance of complying with the „dead-donor rule“ and points to the medical concept of the moment of death. The second part of the paper is dedicated to to the analysis of the current state of legislations regulating organ transplantation. The author finds out that formal legal concept of the moment of death in European laws is developed according to the model existing in contemporary medicine. She also points to the fact that most legislations take brain death as the moment of human death but, also, that a number of European legislations reaquire, in addition, the existance of circulatory (cardiac) death for the determination of death. This double concept of the moment of death is considered more functional and appropriate in terms of closing the gap between the supply and demand of organs suitable for transplantation. Finally, the author concludes that death should be diagnosed by at least two medical professionals of certain specialties who will do it independently from each other.