Life, death, and the bridges in-between

Abstract

Remarkable advances in the technological capacity of modern medicine now permit the use of mechanical organ failure support deployed primarily to save life. Such technology serves as a bridge to either recovery or, when feasible, organ transplantation. However, when effective treatment options are exhausted, technological advances can be burdensome bridges to death. This paper briefly reviews the principles of management of life-threatening critical illness and the corresponding biological aspects of life, death, and organ donation, which are both informed and complicated by these technological and scientific achievements.