Uniform Determination of Death Act
Encyclopedia
The Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) is a draft state law that was approved for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1981 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws is a non-profit, unincorporated association commonly referred to as the U.S. Uniform Law Commission. It consists of commissioners appointed by each state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States...

, in cooperation with the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...

, the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...

, and the President's Commission on Medical Ethics. The act has since been adopted by most US states and is intended "to provide a comprehensive and medically sound basis for determining death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....

in all situations" http://www.nccusl.org/nccusl/uniformact_factsheets/uniformacts-fs-udda.asp.

The three sections of the Act proposed for enactment read as follows .http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/ulc/fnact99/1980s/udda80.htm:

Section 1

Determination of Death. An individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead. A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards.

Section 2

Uniformity of Construction and Application. This Act shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this Act among states enacting it.

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