澳大利亚悉尼女性谢里丹因脑死亡，在移除生命支持后仍继续呼吸并维持心跳长达4小时，最终导致其器官无法用于移植[1]。这一案例反映出澳大利亚现行死亡法律定义存在的问题。
澳大利亚目前对死亡的法律定义采用全球独特的措辞，规定死亡为"血液循环不可逆停止"或"脑功能不可逆停止"[1]。专家认为这一严格的法律框架阻止了国外已成熟应用的器官保护技术在澳大利亚的推广[1]。英国2023年的研究数据显示，使用NRP技术时，每个捐献者平均可提供的器官数从2.6增加到3.3[1]。
器官短缺问题日益突出。澳大利亚器官移植等待名单上有2000人，但去年仅557人能够捐献器官，1438人获得捐献[1]。新南威尔士州的情况更为严峻，去年仅34516人注册为器官捐献者，较前一年下降19%[1]。澳大利亚最后一次修订死亡定义是在1977年[1]。
澳大利亚法律改革委员会计划在8月16日向联邦司法部长提交死亡定义审查报告[1]，拟采用基于脑死亡的新定义，以促进器官捐献工作[1]。
A Sydney woman named Sheridan continued to breathe and maintain a heartbeat for four hours after life support was removed due to brain death, preventing her organs from being used for transplantation.[1] Her family's experience has drawn attention to Australia's restrictive legal definition of death, which experts argue is hindering the adoption of organ-preservation technologies already in use internationally, such as normothermic regional perfusion (NRP).[1]
Australia's current legislation defines death as either "irreversible cessation of blood circulation" or "irreversible cessation of brain function," language that is unique globally.[1] This restrictive framework has effectively blocked the implementation of advanced preservation techniques that could expand the donor pool. Research from the United Kingdom in 2023 demonstrated that when NRP was used, the average number of organs per donor increased from 2.6 to 3.3.[1] The need for reform is underscored by the scale of the problem: Australia's organ transplant waiting list includes 2,000 people, yet only 557 donors were available last year, resulting in 1,438 transplants.[1] In New South Wales alone, organ donor registrations dropped 19 percent year-over-year, with only 34,516 people registered last year.[1]
The Australian Law Reform Commission is set to submit a review of the legal definition of death on August 16, proposing a revised framework based on brain death criteria to facilitate organ donation.[1] This review marks the first substantial examination of Australia's death definition since its last amendment in 1977.[1]