Life and death – simple in appearance, these two words have much more meaning than they seem. It is still a challenge today to find a universal definition of these two words. Depending on your culture, upbringing, and beliefs, the meaning of life and death can vary in so many different ways that it would be impossible to encompass them all in one general definition. Lesley Sharp's ethnography Strange Harvest helps us understand how life and death can have different cultural meanings in different groups. Strange Harvest examines the complex life and death implications across the world of organ transfer, as well as its effects on those involved. An average person's life can begin from the moment they take their first breath and continue until the moment they take their first breath. finally, comes death. But in the world of organ transfer, this cannot be defined so easily. There are many ongoing debates between medical definitions of death and social definitions of death. In the United States, brain death is legally considered true death in medical terms. In the medical context, it is understood that the mind and “self” are located in the brain, which defines someone as a person and gives them an individual personality. In this sense, when a brain stops functioning, the “me” disappears and the body is nothing more than an empty shell. Therefore, the label of death is applied even if an artificially ventilated donor-patient remains warm to the touch, appears to be breathing, and has a heart that continues to beat in his or her own chest (Sharp 2006: 44). However, the criteria for brain death still raise many questions, such as the exact definition of brain death. How much or what part of the brain should be damaged to... middle of paper ...... gan don. They transmit messages claiming that donors can live in others, granting a new or “second” life to transplant recipients who, in turn, frequently describe their own operations as “rebirths” (2006: 83). According to this definition, death begets life. In the context of organ transfer alone, there are many meanings to life and death among the different types of associated groups. Sharp succeeds in emphasizing how cultural, emotional, and medical factors play an important role in how people define life and death. Although the criteria for brain death may still be troubling in some respects, we must understand that the assertion that brain death is "true death" is a consequence of organ transfer being considered an act of great social value (2006: 99). Therefore, organ donation certainly offers unique ways to experience and perceive life and death in America..