In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of India has instructed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi to convene a panel of three experts in neurology or neurosurgery. This panel will assess the effectiveness of alternative methods, such as cerebral angiogram and electroencephalogram (EEG), compared to the apnea test currently used to determine brain death. The court, comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Metha, acknowledged that the concerns raised by the medical community regarding the apnea test have merit and require specialized medical insight. The bench highlighted the complexities involved in accurately determining brain death and stated that a reliable framework is necessary to address these issues. The panel is tasked with submitting its recommendations within two months. The directive follows a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by S Ganapathy, a doctor and activist from Kerala, who alleged serious malpractices in organ transplantation practices, including improper declarations of brain death to facilitate organ harvesting. Ganapathy argued that the apnea test should only be a confirmatory measure and not the primary method for determining brain death, advocating for the inclusion of additional tests like EEG and cerebral angiography.