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Actress Anne Heche suffered fatal injuries in an Aug. 5 car crash. But when did she die? She was declared brain dead on Aug. 11. She remained on life support until Aug. 14, when her organs were removed for donation. Some publications reported the death on Aug. 11, but there were obituary editors adamant she died on the 14th, “when someone is actually dead,” as one editor put it.
The answer, both medically and legally in almost every state, is that she died on Aug. 11. Journalists who assert otherwise not only mistake their opinion for facts but foment fears that brain death is a tool for overeager transplant surgeons, cost-conscious hospitals or windfall-seeking heirs. Such an attitude can haunt healthcare proxies with the feeling they’re killing their loved one.
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