Development of policies on brain death, care of the hopelessly ill, and do not resuscitate.

AMONG THE FIRST issues addressed by The Cleveland Clinic's Ethics Committee when it was established in 1984 was the importance of policies on brain death, care of the hopelessly ill, and resuscitation. The policies recently implemented (printed in their entirety in this issue of the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine) do not fully reflect the exhaustive research and committee work that was necessary to generate concise yet workable guidelines for these aspects of patient care. The following background information summarizes some of this extensive effort and discusses the rationale for the three policies.

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