There are universally recognised scientific protocols for declaring brain death, which have been developed over 60 years. Yet India still does not have a legally and clinically coherent standard across medical practice, law and public administration

“India stands at a delicate crossroads. A recent Supreme Court order has reopened the debate on how we de fine death specifically, brainstem
death and whether long-standing medical protocols should be re-examined. Public scrutiny is welcome. But when it comes to defining death, the margin for er- ror is zero. The discussion must be guided by science.The petition before Supreme Court al- leges “serious malpractices… [where] pa- tients are being declared ‘brain-dead’ even in cases where the clinical param- eters… do not justify such a determina- tion.” These are grave concerns. Any mis- use of brain death certification must be dealt with transparently.