Dead or Alive?
An individual is laying in a hospital bed, aided by a ventilator. Their heart is beating but their eyes stay closed, reacting to no stimuli. The ultimate question becomes: Is this individual still alive or dead? This stems into the concept of brain death, which can be defined as total cessation of all brain function.
Often times brain death is misunderstood to be a coma or vegetative state, however these are different and can be described as “complete unawareness of the self and the environment, accompanied by sleep-wake cycles, with either complete or partial preservation of hypothalamic and brainstem autonomic functions.” Joseph Vukov research focuses on individuals who are in a minimally conscious state, which is characterized by some response to the environment, even if the slightest. Brain death can be compared with locked in syndrome where patients have awareness but lack the ability to move. Although these patients may appear to be similar to brain death patients it is essential to note that locked in syndrome can be diagnosed with an EEG or fMRI. Dr Vukov elaborates how brain dead patients may seem as if they are breathing and alive because they are hooked to a ventilator, however this is all tricks of the trade of medical equipment. A case study that illustrates this is a women by the name of Jahi McMath was brain dead and had went through puberty while being attached to medical machinery. This incident posed conflicting views because her caregivers presumed that she was still alive, when she was pronounced dead.
Thus among the many disorders of consciousness, brain death is the most complex in terms of declaring the end of an individual's life. Dr Vukov taps into this ongoing debate discussing the legalities associated with it and emphasizing the implications of brain death. The requirements affiliated with a decision of pulling the plug is for the individual to exhibit complete absence of brainstem function and spontaneous respiration.
It is essential to understand the differences between brain death and other disorders of consciousness from the perspective of a physician as well as a patients family or loved ones. According to the article, “Brain Death: What Health Professionals Should Know” the first step in clarifying misconceptions is understanding the content of the subject and then rightly guiding the public on what it entails. This can be done by physicians and accompanying staff to receive the proper training that clarifies brain death concepts and how to go about communicating it.
With the age of technological advancements, according to the article, “Reversing brain death: Far-fetched or feasible?” researcher Ira Pastor is on the mission to test a variety of techniques in terms of neuroregenerative properties and restoration of neuronal functioning in humans in hopes of restoring life to the clinically dead. Although this research may pose ethical concerns and seems unrealistic but there will be be four clinical techniques that will be employed. “Pastor and team plan to use in their trial have shown promise for improving brain functioning. Research indicates that stem cell therapy and transcranial laser therapy may help to repair brain damage"
Overall, Ira Pastor propels the idea of reversing the irreversible in hopes of exploring the deeper issues of the human mind and marking the foundations of brain death. Leading into Dr. Vukov and Dr. Powell who highlight the concept of brain death and how it can be tackled in the world of medicine. Many of the case studies that are presented are integrated between the two articles, to exemplify how brain death has become an ongoing and misunderstood issue. Distinctions are still continued to be made in terms of identifying consciousness and brain death and many researches still can not distinguish between brain death and death .
Works Cited:
Powell, T. (2014, May 01). Brain Death: What Health Professionals Should Know. Retrieved from http://ajcc.aacnjournals.org/content/23/3/263.short
ONLINE ARTICLE: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319035.php
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