There are many Canadians who need an organ transplant and who will never get one. In the past, people could only be organ donors after being declared brain dead, meaning that they have no brain function. In response to a large need for organs, a type of organ donation called “donation after circulatory determination of death” is now being conducted in several hospitals across Canada and in other countries.
The process of donation after death determination by circulatory criteria (DCC) occurs when a person is severely ill, is breathing with the help of a machine called a ventilator, is not expected to survive and the decision is made to take them off the ventilator. At this point, the family is sometimes asked if they would agree to have their family member become an organ donor. If the family agrees, when the ventilator is removed, the family member’s heart stops and then 5 minutes after they have been declared dead, their organs are removed and transplanted into other patients who need them.
The purpose of this study is to determine when brain function stops compared to when the heart stops by monitoring electrical brain activity in patients who are taken off life support and progress to death in the intensive care unit.
All eligible patients will be invited to participate and do not have to be an organ donor.