Re: Organ Donors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mik Dickinson
Would you have to donate if you were just brain dead?
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Hi Mik!
Not sure how they define death in the UK, but here in the USA, a person who has suffered brain death (i.e., the electroencephalogram shows no brain activity, pupils are fixed and dialated, and other low-order brain functions such as the gag reflex, are not present) is legally and clinically dead. Ventilators and other machines may stop the other organs from failing for a while, but there is no prospect for recovery. In other words, brain dead IS dead.
With my wife's death earlier this year, I've had to learn a lot more about this than I ever wished to know. She had an advance health directive which help me thorough making some very painful decisions. I cannot urge folks strongly enough about the importance of completing these "living wills." The patient gets what he or she desires and the family has the blessing of having guidance for the correct decisions. |
