MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ariane K. Lewis, MD Division of Neurocritical Care Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery NYU Langone Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Death by neurologic criteria (DNC, also known as brain death) is widely accepted by physicians, lawyers, and ethicists as being equivalent to cardiopulmonary death. Declaration of DNC is based on strict criteria written by the American Academy of Neurology in 1995 that require: • Identification of a definitive etiology for catastrophic brain injury; • Confirmation that prerequisite conditions are met (normal blood pressure and temperature, exclusion of complicating factors such as medications or laboratory abnormalities that could impact the exam); and • Demonstration that a patient is comatose, lacks brainstem reflexes, and is incapable of breathing spontaneously. If a portion of the examination cannot be performed, an ancillary test such as an electroencephalogram or angiogram is used to confirm lack of brain activity or blood flow to the brain. If a patient is pronounced dead by neurologic criteria, organ support is discontinued unless organ donation is planned. An independent representative from an organ donation team approaches families to discuss donation, and if families agree to donation, organs are given to patients on the 120,000 person waitlist in the United States based upon need. (more…)