Preconditions for certifying brainstem death

Certain criteria must be satisfied before brainstem death can be acknowledged: Patient factors:

• cause of condition compatible with irreversible brain damage
• in a coma and on a ventilator
• not hypothermic - temperature must be above 35 degrees C
• not on depressant drugs
• metabolic and endocrine disturbances have been excluded

Staff involved:

• doctor should be qualified for more than 5 years
• two sets of tests must be compatible and performed by different doctors, ideally from different teams
• doctor should not be part of the transplant team