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Paging King Solomon: Towards Allowing Organ Donation From Anencephalic Infants, Fazal Khan

Fazal Khan

The article, Paging King Solomon: Towards Allowing Organ Donation from Anencephalic Infants, argues that organ donation from anencephalic infants is ethically and legally justifiable. Anencephaly is a medical condition characterized by a lack of brain development above the brainstem, so such children often lack a cerebrum, cerebellum and a skull. With an intact brainstem, these children can maintain heart and lung function. Without higher brain functioning though, these children are not capable of human consciousness and they typically have very short life spans measured in days or weeks. The way in which an anencephalic infant dies typically destroys the suitability …