brain, spinal cord, and nerve disorders
Brain Death
Introduction
Brain death is the permanent loss of brain activity. As a result, people cannot breathe or maintain other vital functions on their own, and they permanently lose all awareness and capacity for thought. Artificial means can maintain breathing and keep the heart beating for a while, but once brain death occurs, nothing can keep the other organs functioning indefinitely. Doctors must use specific criteria to diagnose brain death. No treatment can help a person who is brain dead. A diagnosis of brain death is equivalent to a person's death. Brain death means that the brain stops functioning. People do not respond to any stimuli. No treatment can help, and once the diagnosis is confirmed, a person is considered legally dead. In the past, the idea of brain death was irrelevant because when the brain died, so did the rest of the body. That is, the person stopped breathing, and the heart stopped beating. However now, artificial means (such as ventilators and drugs) can temporarily maintain breathing and the heart’s beating even when all brain activity stops. But eventually, even with help from artificial means, all the body's organs stop working. Nothing can keep the heart beating indefinitely once brain death occurs. 