Physician Group's New Statement on Determining Death

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued a new position paper on the determination of death, advocating for a single word revision to the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA). The ACP supports replacing the word "irreversible" with "permanent" in the UDDA to define circulatory determination of death, while maintaining separate cardiorespiratory and neurologic standards. The ACP also emphasizes the importance of aligning medical testing with standards of determining death and separating issues about determination of death from organ transplantation. The ACP's position paper aims to provide clarity and education on the standards and ethics surrounding the determination of death.