When do you consider Sammy to have ceased living?

Question:

Substituted Sammy" was a normal healthy boy. There was nothing in his life that indicated that he was any different from anyone else. When he completed high school he obtained a job in a factory operating a press. On this job he had an accident and lost his hand. It was replaced with an artificial hand that looked and operated like a real one.

Soon afterward, Sammy developed severe intestinal difficulty and a large portion of his lower small intestine had to be removed. It was replaced with an elastic silicon tube.

Everything looked good for Sammy until he was involved in a serious car accident. His legs and good arm were crushed and had to be amputated. He also lost an ear in the accident. Artificial legs enabled Sammy to walk again and an artificial arm replaced the real arm. Plastic surgery and the use of silicon plastic enabled doctors to rebuild the ear.

Over the next several years, Sammy was plagued with internal disorders. First, he had to have an operation to remove his aorta and replace it with a synthetic vessel. Next, his kidneys malfunctioned and the only way he could survive was to use a kidney dialysis machine. A kidney donor was sought but never found. Later, his digestive system became cancerous and was removed, which resulted in Sammy having to receive his nourishment intravenously. Finally, his heart failed. Luckily for Sammy a donor heart was available and transplanted into his body.

It was now obvious that Sammy had become a medical phenomenon. All of his limbs were artificial. Nourishment was supplied through his veins; therefore, he had no solid wastes. All chemical wastes were removed by the kidney dialysis machine. The heart that pumped his blood, to carry oxygen and food to his cells, was not his original heart.

Unfortunately, Sammy's transplanted heart began to fail. He was immediately placed on a heart-lung machine. This supplied oxygen and removed carbon dioxide from his blood as it circulated through his body.

The doctors consulted bioengineers about Sammy. Since almost all of his life-sustaining functions were being carried on by machines, they thought it might be possible to compress all of these machines into one mobile unit which could be controlled by electrical impulses from his brain. This unit would be equipped with mechanical arms to enable him to do multiple tasks. A mechanism to create a flow of air over his vocal cords might enable him to speak. In order to do all this, they would have to amputate at Sammy's neck and attach his head to the machine, which would then supply all nutrients to his brain. Sammy consented, and the operation was successfully performed.

Sammy functioned well for a few years. However, slow deterioration of his brain cells occurred and the bioengineers diagnosed him as terminal. So the medical/bioengineer team that developed around Sammy began to program his brain. A miniature computer was developed; it could be housed in a machine that was like a human head in appearance, movement, and mannerisms. As the computer was installed, Sammy's brain cells completely deteriorated. Sammy was once again able to leave the hospital with COMPLETE assurance that he would not return with any biological illness.

Answers:
IMHO when Sammy's brain stopped functioning. The very last part...when the computer was installed...

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When do you consider Sammy to have ceased living?

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