Redefining Death - Traditional Definition Of Death

The processes of human life are sustained by many factors, but oxygen is the key to life. Respiration and blood circulation provide the body's cells with the oxygen needed to perform their life functions. When an injury or a disease compromises respiration or circulation, a breakdown in the oxygen supply can occur. As a result, the cells, deprived of essential life-sustaining oxygen, deteriorate. Using the criteria of a working heart and lungs, defining death was once quite simple—a person was considered dead once he or she stopped breathing or was without a detectable heartbeat.