Organ procurement criteria are necessary to determine if an individual meets the criteria of brain death. Once the individual has been determined to be brain dead, an organ procurement procedure can be initiated. The criteria for death involve clinical indicators of neurologic function. According to Nicely and DeLario (2011), the clinical indicators involve cranial nerve and apnea testing, in conjunction with a full clinical …show more content…
Organ donation from an individual can impact the lives of up to ten recipients (Wakefield, Watts, Homewood, Meiser &. Siminoff, 2010). There are numerous ethical implications to consider. One issue this nurse had not considered was introduced by Mike Nair-Collins in his 2010 article. He postulates that turning off a ventilator on a brain dead, but not biologically dead, patient is equivalent to murdering the person. Having been present at the end of a patient’s life many times, this nurse has wondered the same thing. I have wondered if brain death is biological and spiritual death. It seems that the most appropriate way to determine the legitimacy of organ donation is through informed consent by the donor, while the donor is alive. In that way, the donor is aware of the repercussions of the