Week 13: Brain stem death, devastating brain injuries, and organ donation

What to think about

• What is death?

• When do we consider or diagnose it? In who? How?

• Death by circulatory criteria vs death by neurological criteria

• Organ donation: What's the ethical and legal basis? How does the consent process work? How does DCD differ from DBD?

• What happens during an organ retrieval

• When to involve palliative care

• Management of devestating brain injuries in the ICU

Resources

• Diagnosing death, and pitfalls in diagnosing death by neurological criteria (BJAEd)

• Brain death (LITFL)

• Management of devastating brain injuries (FICM, lead by Dr Harvey)

• Physiological changes after brain-stem death (BJAEd)

• Organ donation after neurological and circulatory death (BJAEd)

• Care at the end of life (FICM)

• SIGNET study (Dr Harvey is co-chief investigator - and do the local training to help out)

NHSBT website

• No major trials to look at this week, but we instead suggest you have a good read around Dr Gardiner et al's brilliant deceased donation website (NHSBT)

  • Donation after brainstem death

  • Donation after circulatory death

  • Donor optimisation

  • End of life care

Have we missed something?

Know a great resource or teaching aid that we've missed? Let us know and help make this page even better.