More than 50 years after the publication of the Harvard Committee Report that sought to define death according to whole-brain function criteria, this document continues to generate a diversity of opinions regarding how death should be defined. The various perspectives show that doubts linger regarding when brain death should be diagnosed, the criteria to pinpoint the occurrence of death, and the alignment of medical practices seeking to establish human death with these criteria. This study reviews and assesses three perspectives that have made significant contributions to the debate. Attention is also given to definitions of death that depart from the recommendations of the Harvard Report. Appraisals of various arguments lead to the conclusion that changes in the definition of death have resulted from advances in knowledge of human biology, medical technology and diagnostic techniques. A commentary is included on expediting the time of death with the view of organ donation.

在试图根据全脑功能标准定义死亡的哈佛委员会报告发表 50 多年后，该文件继续产生关于如何定义死亡的各种意见。各种观点表明，对于何时应诊断脑死亡、确定死亡发生的标准以及寻求确定人类死亡的医学实践与这些标准的一致性，仍存在疑问。本研究回顾并评估了对辩论做出重大贡献的三个观点。还注意到与哈佛报告建议不同的死亡定义。对各种论点的评估得出的结论是，死亡定义的变化是由于人类生物学知识的进步，医疗技术和诊断技术。附有关于以器官捐赠的观点加快死亡时间的评论。