Know a bit about death

Death is not something we talk about much but it happens to us all at some stage in our lives.  Basically, we die either if we stop breathing or if our heart stops beating.  Breathing is essential in order to keep our blood soaked in oxygen and a beating heart is essential to pump blood and oxygen around our bodies.  Without oxygen, the cells that make up our bodies stop working and die.  Some cells are more sensitive to loss of oxygen and die quickly, especially brain cells.  

How do they know you are really dead?

Organs are only removed for transplantation after a person has died. Death is pronounced by a doctor or doctors who are entirely independent of the transplant team. Death is certified in the same way for people who donate organs as for those who do not.

The ventilator provides oxygen which keeps the heart beating and blood circulating after death. These donors are called heartbeating donors. Organs such as hearts and lungs, which deteriorate very quickly without an oxygen supply, are usually only donated by a heartbeating donor.

With improved medical technology we are now able to successfully transplant organs from patients who have died because their hearts have stopped beating. These patients, called ‘non-heart beating’ donation usually die in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), are able to donate organs, in particular kidneys and livers that are able to tolerate longer periods without oxygen than other organs.