05/04/2016
Long but important msg to understand Brain Death which is very important in Organ Donation.
Brain Death
Brain dead patients have suffered complete and irreversible loss of all brain function and are clinically and legally dead. Mechanical ventilation and medications keeps their heart beating and blood flowing to their organs.
Brain Dead is Dead. There is No “Recovery”
Brain death can be confusing, particularly for families who are confronted with the sudden death of someone they love because a brain dead person on a ventilator can feel warm to the touch and can look "alive." The heart is still beating and the ventilator is pushing oxygen and air into the lungs making the person's chest rise and fall.
Documenting Brain Death
Declaring someone brain dead involves no subjective or arbitrary judgments. Apnea tests are performed twice 6 hrs apart and then Brain Death is declared.
To avoid even the smallest chance of mistake, most hospitals require that 4 physicians – 6 hours apart – each conduct a range of Apnea tests in search of even the slightest indication of brain activity.
None of these physicians can have anything to do with organ donation and transplantation; Physicians, however, often let family members watch as they perform some of these tests because the tests visually demonstrate that, appearances notwithstanding, the person they love is indeed dead.
Once a person is declared brain dead, families are counselled by Organ Transplant counsellers for Organ Donation.
Organ and Tissue Donation after Cardiac Death
Typically when a person suffers a cardiac death, the heart stops beating. The vital organs quickly become unusable for transplantation. But their tissues – such as skin and corneas – can be donated within 6 hrs of death.
