[Brain death judgement and clinical examinations]

In September, 1997, the law of the transplantation of internal organs was promulgated and enforced from October the same year. Since the beginning of this year(1999), four cases of legal brain death judgement, based on after mentioned law have reported. With regard to the branch of clinical examinations the law designates EEG examination as a compulsory article, and the ABR(auditory brain stem response) examination, as an article that is desirable to carry out. An EEG examination of a highly precise level is required to confirm the "flat EEG" as the standard of judgement, in comparison with daily clinical examinations. Additionally, a request for an examination to ascertain whether brain death has occurred may be required abruptly. In the examination room, it is vital to ensure that staff have appropriate examination skills, and the guidelines on how to proceed are set in place.