What is brain dead and how is it determined? Brain dead means that a qualified physician, typically a neurologist, did an extensive physical examination of the patient and found that the patient meets brain death criteria. Before someone is pronounced brain death, three clinical criteria must be met: Unresponsiveness, Absence of reflexes, Apnea (inability to breathe without a ventilator) (CNN Health pg. 3). Is the person likely to recover from being brain dead? Brain death isn't a different type of death, and patients who meet the criteria of brain death are legally dead. Meaning it is “very unlikely to recover from brain death” (professor Hardcastle). With these two answers I would conclude that parents should not be allowed to keep their child on life support if doctor agree the child is brain dead. All 50 states agree that if you are labeled brain dead, you are deceased and I would have to agree.…show more content… Her heart is still beating, so there's still life there.” This statement is not necessarily true. Some families believe just because their love one heart is still beating, or because their skin is warm to touch, or even just because they are still breathing, this makes them alive. However, what people don’t understand is that the machines are keeping their love ones alive. The life support machine is helping with “breathing”, but when there is no life to sustain, a life support machine is pointless. A life support machine is giving family members false hope, but there is no way a person can recover from brain
