Pari Publishing

Reviews

The authors discuss concepts such as brain death, and persistent vegetative state, and contentious topics such as organ donation, euthanasia and advance directives are explored in detail. The book does not pull any punches, with a graphic description, for example, of the physical deterioration of the brain after death, detailing the “semiliquid autolysed detritus” filling the cranial cavity at post-mortem.
There are some interesting UK statistics on organ transplantation and the authors contemplate whether one day “almost the whole body will be used to help others survive otherwise incurable diseases.”
Some sections are philosophical, discussing personhood and the soul. Balancing this, there is a nod towards scientific humanism with reference to Julian Huxley's view that survival of the soul after death is “wishful thinking.”
Nursing Standard, May 21, 2008, vol 22 no 37