7 Quick Things You Need to Know About Brain Death

May 21, 2013 — 1 Comment

7 quick takes sm1 Your 7 Quick Takes Toolkit!

Non-Heart Beating Donors

Definition of Irreversible ComaIn April of 1997, Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes did a piece on “Are surgeons taking organs from patients who are not quite dead?” At the end of his piece, Mike Wallace predicted that taking organs from the “not quite dead” or non heart beating donors would go away.

He was wrong.

It has not gone away.

Prior to donation, the patient will be given heparin and phentolamine (Regitine), they are taken off life support, the heart will stop for 2-5 minutes, or they will check your pulse for just a very few seconds and pronounce you dead.  You will be resuscitated, put back on life support and the harvesting will begin.

Brain Death is a Means to Harvesting Organs

The concept of “brain death”, was adopted in 1968 at Harvard University by 13 men known as the Ad Hoc Committee. Since then proclaiming someone brain death become an acceptable law for pronouncing death and harvesting “vital” organs.

I use the word vital, because vital means LIFE. Your organs must be vital to be harvested. A person who has truly died their organs can NOT be harvested.

It is morally wrong to kill one person to save the life of another person. Every person who donates their organs is a living person.

The Uniform Determination of Death Act 

Life Processes in those pronounced “Brain Dead”

Regardless of the UDDA which defined death in the United States Dr. Alan D Shewmon has compiled a list of life processes that brain-dead patients continues to exhibit: 

  • Cellular wastes continue to be eliminated, detoxified, and recycled.
  • Body temperature is maintained, though at a lower than normal temperature and with the help of blankets.
  • Wounds heal.
  • Infections are fought by the body.
  • Infections produce fever.
  • Organs and tissues continue to function.
  • Brain-dead pregnant women can deliver a baby.
  • Brain-dead children mature sexually and grow proportionately.

The Apnea Test 

The doctors do an Apnea test to confirm brain death. The apnea test is not done to benefit your loved one.

It is done to confirm brain death.

An Apnea test is done to see if the patient without the help of a ventilator can breath or gasp or have abdominal movements as the carbon dioxide builds up in the body.

If there is any respiratory efforts by the patient as carbon dioxide builds up, the person is negative for brain death. The symbol for partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood is PC02.

If you don’t breathe or gasp or have abdominal movements you are declared “brain dead.”

The Dead Donor Rule

Before an organ can be harvest the patient must be declared dead.

The “dead-donor rule” refers to two accepted ‘ethical norms’ that govern the practice of organ harvesting before transplantation:

1) vital organs should be taken only from dead patients,

2) living patients should not be killed for or by organ procurement.

Make an Informed Decision Before Signing the Organ Donor Card

What do people know about being an organ donor ?

  • Are they giving informed consent to be cut open while their heart is still beating?
  • Do they know they will be given anesthetics to keep them from jerking, moving and squirming on the operating table?
  • Do they know that if they are truly dead their organs will be no good?
  • Do they know they are not dead in the sense they “think” it means…”when you die?”

The concept death by neurological criteria is being challenged more and more by neurologists. Although many of them still agree with organ donation they want to drop the hoax that you are really dead. They want to make it acceptable to publicly and openly say, we take your organs when you are “almost dying”.

Why, because they know it is the truth.

Do your children know it is the truth?

Life and Death Can Not Exist at the Same Time 

God created a person with a body and a soul.

You are not dead until the soul leaves the body, that is true death.

Gen 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Two parts 1) the physical=body and 2) the soul from the breath of God.

Can a person be both alive and dead at the same time?

According to the government and hospitals all across America the answer is YES. However, this belief did not come about until 45 years ago with the introduction of “brain death.”

Biologically speaking, our bodies are made of cells, tissues, and organs including three major vital systems. No one organ or system controls all other organs and systems. Interdependent functioning of organs and systems maintains unity, homeostasis, immune defenses, growth, healing and the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

When a person is on a ventilator all the signs of life are present, including temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and respiration. When a person dies, the signs of death are present including the lack of breathing, heartbeat, pulse and blood pressure.

A person’s brain may be severally injured, they are in a deep coma but they are not dead.

 

***I ran across this blog Conversion Diary, and am posting these 7 Quick Takes Here***#7QT on Twitter to read other’s. 

Have something to add?

Loading Facebook Comments ...

Trackbacks and Pingbacks:

  1. Woman Opens Eyes Before Organs are Harvested - Melissa Caulk - July 8, 2013

    […] off life support and allow the donation.First of all one of the contraindications of a diagnosis of “brain death” is that if anyone is on a possible drug overdose they do not do an Apnea Test. The Apnea test shows […]

Would love to hear your thoughts...