Brain dead...when is it over?

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Serqet

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http://www.health24.com/news/Brain_Neurological/1-896,51353.asp

Interested to hear your thoughts on this matter. When would you consider it okay to switch off the support system keeping someone alive? Would you trust the doctors to make the informed decision to do this or do you feel the family should be allowed to keep their loved one alive for as long as they feel necessary? Do you feel the tests to determine whether someone is dead or not are full-proof?
 
If they are deemed brain dead by one doctor and i get a second opinion and i get the same result then switch off...

Same with a Coma, I would give only a certain amount of time then its finished...

I expect nobody to keep me alive just because i might one day come out of whatever...
 
Serqet said:
http://www.health24.com/news/Brain_Neurological/1-896,51353.asp

Interested to hear your thoughts on this matter. When would you consider it okay to switch off the support system keeping someone alive? Would you trust the doctors to make the informed decision to do this or do you feel the family should be allowed to keep their loved one alive for as long as they feel necessary? Do you feel the tests to determine whether someone is dead or not are full-proof?
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Unfortunately there are some brain-dead people who aren't hooked up to machines where where we dont have the luxury to turn them off :D
On a serious note though, if your body is relying on machines to keep you alive they should be turned off.... I know there have been occassions though where the body recovers enough to come off of the machines, but....Turn them off after a second doctors opinion
 
Lol @ retrobok. This much is true!

I think it has to be the hardest decision ever though. Imagine being the person who has to agree that the machines of your loved one must be switched off. I think people will always hang onto the hope that somehow, they will recover.

As far as reincarnation; i'm in two minds about it. I would like to believe in it but there is no scientific evidence to prove it exists.

I agree with Peder though. If 2 doctors are telling you the same thing then i guess there is not much chance of survival and even if there is...would you want the person you love to be a vegetable for the rest of their lives? Gosh i just don't know how i feel about it.
 
Hawkins says when you die, it is like turning off a computer. I agree with him. Your body is keeping your brain alive so you are dead, when your brain is dead, because it is you.

What I wonder is, the usa has unbanned stim cells, what if they regrow the dead parts of your brain?
 
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Sorry to hear j3n0va! :( It must have been difficult. My heart goes out to you and your family.
 
Serqet said:
Lol @ wolverine movie. Ja nee voicy!
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Look I'm just saying ... they'll be alive, but to what extent? If you were brain-dead, would you want to be stem-celled into a permanent vegetable?

Besides, delaying the inevitable just places more strain on your loved ones. As much as we say put an animal down that is suffering, the same logic can be used for rather euthanizing the brain-dead patient to stop the suffering his loved ones are going through.

Just my uneducated opinion.
 
It all depends, a friend of mine had a stroke and fell an hit his head. He lives in Calvinnia and the doctor said that if they had the facilities to send the brain scan reults to CT via email then he would've said keep him there because there is no chance of survival. Now 3 weeks later and he breathing by himself although he is assisted by a ventilator and it looks like he's going to be OK. Just concerned about how much brain damage there will be. Hectic thing is 2 weeks ago it got really bad and the docs reckoned it was time to operate to remove the swelling otherwise he would die. If they'd given the go ahead they would've removed some if not all of his frontal lobe. This is the part of your brain that basically makes you human. They said they didn't want the procedure and now he's coming out of it by himself.
 
Yeah, I would prefer it if they would give me a few months to fight. I'm not going to go gentle into that good night.
 
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