[Brain death in pediatric patients--from the viewpoint of pediatric intensive care].

In Japan, "brain death" has been discussed exclusively in connection with organ transplantation. However, the concept of brain death, which emerged with the progress in intensive care medicine, should be discussed in the context of palliative care in the ICU. It should be recognized that intensive care medicine includes not only life-saving high-tech therapeutic modalities, but also ethical and psycho-social aspects of modern medicine. In order to find out a decent solution to pediatric brain death issues, it is essential to develop pediatric intensive care in Japan.