The discussion of brain death dates back to the 1950s in France with six patients who were kept "alive" for between two and 26 days without blood flow to the brain. There is very little research on just how long the body of a brain-dead person can be maintained. Greene-Chandos said Jahi's case is tragic, and as a mother, she is heartbroken for the family. If all of the criteria for brain death are met, "then it's pretty clear that there's nothing left, and we're supporting the body," Greene-Chandos said. Doctors sometimes provide support (in the form of a ventilator, hormones, fluids, etc.) for several days if the organs will be used for donation, or if the family needs more time to say good-bye, Greene-Chandos said. The body of a brain-dead person is usually not supported for very long, Greene-Chandos said. Normal blood pressure, which is also critical for bodily functions, often cannot be maintained without blood-pressure medications in a brain-dead person, Greene-Chandos said.Ī brain-dead person also cannot maintain his or her own body temperature, so the body is kept warm with blankets, a high room temperature and, sometimes, warm IV fluids, Greene-Chandos said. For example, thyroid hormone is important for regulating body metabolism, and vasopressin is needed for the kidneys to retain water. Without the brain, the body does not secrete important hormones needed to keep biological processes - including gastric, kidney and immune functions - running for periods longer than about a week. "If you're brain-dead, you're dead, but, we can make the body do some of the things it used to do when you were alive," Goodman said. Kenneth Goodman, director of the Bioethics Program at the University of Miami, stressed that such functions do not mean the person is alive. With just a ventilator, some biological processes - including kidney and gastric functions - can continue for about a week, Greene-Chandos said.
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