Brain death is the brain's inability to maintain the body's vital functions, such as the patient breathing alone, for example. A patient is diagnosed with brain death when he has symptoms such as total absence of reflexes, being kept "alive" only with the help of devices, and it is at this point that organ donation can be made, if possible.
In addition to promoting organ transplantation, in the event of brain death, family members can say goodbye to the patient, which can bring some comfort. However, children, the elderly and people with heart problems or who cannot be moved should not contact this patient.
What can cause brain death
Brain death can be caused by numerous causes, such as:
- Cranial trauma; Lack of oxygen in the brain; Cardiorespiratory arrest; Stroke (stroke); Swelling in the brain, Increased intracranial pressure; Tumors; Overdose; Lack of blood glucose.
These and other causes lead to an increase in brain size (cerebral edema), which associated with the impossibility of expansion due to the skull, leads to compression, decreased brain activity and irreversible damage to the central nervous system.
How to know if it's brain death
The signs that it is a brain death and that the person will not recover are:
- Absence of breathing; Absence of pain to stimuli such as pricking a needle in the body or even into the patient's eyes; Non-reactive pupils There should be no hypothermia and hypotension should show no signs.
However, if the person is connected to the devices, they can maintain their breathing and heart rate, but the pupils will not be reactive and this will be an indication of brain death. The diagnosis must be made by two different doctors, on two different days, by observing the symptoms mentioned above so that there is no margin for errors.
How long does brain death last
The brain-dead patient can be kept "alive" while the devices are on. The moment the devices are turned off, the patient is truly said to be dead, and in this case, turning off the devices is not considered euthanasia, as the patient has no chance of surviving.
The patient can be kept "alive" through the devices for as long as the family wishes. Although it is only desired that the patient be kept in this state for some time if he is an organ donor, to ensure the removal of the organs for later transplantation to another patient. Find out how heart transplantation is done, for example.
