Abstract
Life and death are viewed differently in different cultures, religions, and societies; therefore standardizing their meanings in multicultural societies is challenging and complex. Given this reality, this research investigated how death has been understood throughout history and its associated values. An analytic-narrative literature review was conducted, selecting 69 publications to be read in full. Society and medicine have assumed a dualistic perspective in which death of the brain function is viewed as irreversibility of the existence of a psychological self. Faced with the possibility of procuring organs and tissues from a body kept alive and operated on, life support should always aim to benefit, but without causing harm to others. For these advances to be possible, legislation must be clear and up-to-date.
Death; Brain death; Tissue and organ procurement; Bioethics