| Abstract: | Recent research reported in a number of medical journals highlights some of the problems associated with performing experiments with human subjects who have been declared dead using the brain death criteria of death. These reports provide interesting illustrations of some of the real dilemmas involved in the regulation of human subjects experimentation. In particular, the traditional method of balancing risks and benefits in determining the ethical acceptability of research on human subjects is thrown into question. It is suggested that there should be a moratorium on the use of brain-dead subjects in research until some of the issues can be clarified and appropriate guidelines for the conduct of this research can be prepared. |
