Cerebral Death Determination

A person shall be declared dead if it is determined that there is irreversible cessation of all functions of the brain, including the brainstem by a licensed attending physician and confirmed independently by a licensed consulting physician. Neurological criteria for establishing death and cessation of brain function (brain dead) shall include the following clinical conditions:

(a)cerebral function must be absent; and

(b)brainstem functions must be absent; Irreversibility of loss of brain function is declared if the following are satisfied:

(a)the cause of coma should be established and sufficient to account for the loss of brain function (Examples might include documented structural disease (massive intracranial hemorrhage or head trauma), or an irreversible systemic metabolic cause, such as severe anoxia resulting from cardiopulmonary arrest);

(b)reversible conditions (specifically hypothermia, [core temperature less than 32 Celsius degrees]) and drug intoxication must be excluded; (If sufficient cause for the coma cannot be established, excluding these reversible conditions, further laboratory testing for drug intoxication may be required as well as a more extended period of observation.);

(c)loss of brain function should persist for a period of twenty-four

(24)hours; and

(d)an EEG confirmation of neocortical death is optional.