Moždana smrt i transplantacija organa iz japanske perspektive: Pogled kroz vrijeme

Abstract

None of the topics in the history of mankind occupies a man’s mind as much as the phenomenon of death does. Accordingly, religious and cultural traditions of any nation can play a significant role in shaping a bioethical discourse that deals with the mentioned phenomenon, of which, for the purpose of this paper, the Japanese people have been chosen. Namely, the Japanese have an entirely different perspective when compared to the one which most people are accustomed to, therefore is their medical ethics especially intriguing, which was also the reason for writing this essay, with an emphasis on the Japanese bioethical thought about organ donation and brain death. The purpose of this paper is manifold: it intends to (1) provide an introduction to the postulates of medical ethics of Japan, (2) clarify the concept of death, (3) explain the concept of consciousness and its variations in the medical field, (4) bring the Japanese thought closer to the Western medicine and philosophy, the thought which claims that giving and receiving organs – particularly those of a dead person – is inhumane and immoral, and, finally, (5) provide a solution for the mentioned bioethical dilemma.