Brain stem death

When this happens, a ventilator keeps the person’s heart beating and oxygen circulating through their bloodstream.

A person is confirmed as being dead when their brain stem function is permanently lost.


A person is confirmed as being dead when their brain stem function is permanently lost.

Symptoms

an overdose of illegal drugs, tranquillisers, poisons or other chemical agents an abnormally low body temperature (hypothermia) severe under-activity of the thyroid gland

Once these factors have been ruled out, tests are carried out to confirm brain death. The diagnosis of brain death has to be made by two senior doctors. Neither of them can be involved with the hospital’s transplant team.

The doctors will explain the tests to you and they’ll keep you informed about your loved one’s condition at all times.

Tests

The doctors will run a series of tests. Both doctors have to agree on the results for a diagnosis of brain death to be confirmed. The tests are carried out twice to minimise any chance of error.

The tests used to determine whether brain stem death has occurred are outlined below:

A torch is shone into both eyes to see if they react to the light. The cornea (transparent outer layer of the eye), which is usually very sensitive, is stroked with a tissue or piece of cotton wool to see if the eye reacts. Pressure is applied to the forehead and the nose is pinched to see if there’s any movement in response. Ice-cold water is inserted into each ear, which would usually cause the eyes to move. A thin, plastic tube is placed down the trachea (windpipe) to see if it provokes gagging or coughing. The person is disconnected from the ventilator for a short period of time to see if they make any attempt to breathe on their own.

Brain death will be diagnosed if a person fails to respond to all of these tests.

Occasionally, a person’s limbs or torso (the upper part of the body) may move, even after brain stem death has been diagnosed.

These spinal reflex movements are generated by the spinal cord and don’t involve the brain at all. Therefore, they won’t affect the diagnosis of brain death.