Over the years there has been a lot of debating on rather or not people should be left on a ventilator if they have been pronounced brain dead by a doctor. There have been controversy on both sides for the negative as well as the positive on the choice. In some cases the option is left up to the patient only if they have put in place a legal will. The will is only valid in a sound mind and body state. If no will has been put into place then the Doctor will make a decision based on the patient’s state and prognosis. This is a touchy situation and people’s feelings become a huge factor on decisions at the time.
The big question is when is a patient legally brain dead? Based upon readings the answer is “doctors are required to evaluate brainstem reflexes, such as the response of the eye to light, the response to ice water in the ear, and the reflexes that control gagging and swallowing. Doctors take into account the nature of the trauma that caused the patient to go into the coma and the severity of the situation. Sometimes there will be blood test as well as an electroencephalogram (EEG) performed on the patent.
One case were ventilator support of brain dead patients is considered a good idea is if there is another patent waiting on live organs. If the patient has been on a transplant list the hospital will keep a patient alive with a ventilator long enough to transplant their organs safely into someone else to continue their life in a healthy manner. In this case it is hard on one family, but rescues another for a loss. There are great rewards of being an organ donor like saving a life by letting your life live on in another body. The choice is yours to make, but only in your right sound mind and body and free will.
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...t steps should be taken in the future of their loved one, but now Doctors are not wanting to wait and give time needed. People are asking why the urgent movement on this action? There are many answers people can give, but no one can say one hundred present what will happen, not even the Doctors on call.
In closing there is no for sure answers on any patient’s life, at any time. There is only one person who knows for sure what will happen to people and that is God. People have to turn things over to God and just pray his will be done upon them and let the rest go. However, people tend to lose sight of this in the face of a loved one’s death, but that is understandable due to the situation. Whatever happens it is in God’s hands and there is nothing more can be done or said. I pray for everyone who has a family member on ventilation support get peace at some point.
This can be seen in the case study as ethical and legal arise in resuscitation settings, as every situation will have its differences it is essential that the paramedic has knowledge in the areas of health ethics and laws relating to providing health care. The laws can be interpreted differently and direction by state guidelines may be required. Paramedics face ethical decisions that they will be required to interpret themselves and act in a way that they believe is right. Obstacles arise such as families’ wishes for the patients’ outcome, communicating with the key stakeholders is imperative in making informed and good health practice decision. It could be argued that the paramedics in the case study acted in the best interest of the patient as there was no formal directive and they did not have enough information regarding the patients’ wishes in relation to the current situation. More consultation with the key stakeholders may have provided a better approach in reducing the stress and understanding of why the resuscitation was happening. Overall, ethically it could be argued that commencing resuscitation and terminating once appropriate information was available is the right thing to do for the
Social Attitudes Survey noted that 78% of respondents believe that “the law should require doctors to carry out the instructions of a Living Will” (Park et al, 2007). These decisions become important once patients lose their mental capacity, are unconscious, or unable to communicate” (BMA, 2009). The Mental Capacity Act 2005 defines an “advance decision” as a decision made by a person 18 or over, when he or she has the capacity to do so. The implications of a Living Will, make the case against legalising assisted dying weaker. This is because if a person is legally allowed to set out which treatments they will or will not agree to, and can refuse life sustaining treatments by creating a legal document, then why shouldn’t an individual in extreme pain who is able to make the request at the time be able to ask for assistance in
Mohr, M., & Kettler, D. (1997). Ethical aspects of resuscitation. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 253.
Until this century, it was rare that brain-dead patients could be kept alive for long periods of time. However, as technological prowess has increased, it has recently become possible to keep a patient alive without higher brain functioning for years and even decades. But, as is always the case with new technology and knowledge, previously unknown ethical issues arise, and thus we have the difficult ethical problems of the Karen Ann Quinlan case.
No one should depend on a machine in order to sustain their life. Being brain dead could be a heartbreaking and very emotional subject to discuss among family and friends. It is understandable that some people cannot grasp their loved one’s irreversible death, or understand how their heart is still beating yet their brain in unconscious, but dragging their life and binding their loved ones to be held to a life support machine can seem pretty selfish and careless on their part.
One of the greatest dangers facing chronic and terminally ill patients is the grey area regarding PAS. In the Netherlands, there are strict criteria for the practice of PAS. Despite such stringencies, the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (1992) found 28% of the PAS cases in the Netherlands did not meet the criteria. The evidence suggests some of the patient’s lives may have ended prematurely or involuntarily. This problem can be addressed via advance directives. These directives would be written by competent individuals explaining their decision to be aided in dying when they are no longer capable of making medical decisions. These interpretations are largely defined by ones morals, understanding of ethics, individual attitudes, religious and cultural values.
Almost all the sources have indicated that there are little to no benefits of keeping a brain dead patient on ventilation. Taking a closer look into; brain dead criteria; organ donation; the cost of keeping a patient on life support and case studies on those who have been misdiagnosed it will be possible to draw an accurate conclusion on whether or not there are benefits of keeping a brain dead patient on life support.
In the face of the threat of euthanasia, does the patient have the right to the final word? What are his rights in the area of medical care? This essay will explore this question, and provide case histories to exemplify these rights in action.
Oz (New York Heart Transplant surgeon) says “they (the families of the brain dead patient) can’t deal with the fear, however irrational, that the true end of their loved one will come when the heart is removed” (Dr. Oz, 7). This premise leads up to the main claim since it states why there aren’t enough donors in the world and why there is a long transplant waiting list too. Also it helps explain that even though the patient is brain dead, you should still treat them as a patient and have some
Brain death occurs when brain cells, which cannot regenerate themselves, are injured or dead. This results in brain death as the brain becomes starved of oxygen. One can only be pronounced brain dead, by a neurologist and even then, a number of criteria must be met, some of these include; unresponsiveness to stimuli; no reflexes and an inability to breathe unaided by a machine(Goila and Pawar, 2009). At this point one is put on a ventilator. A ventilator is a machine which maintains the circulation of blood, oxygen and nutrients to organs around the body. To put a patient on life support is very costly to the family of the patient and even the hospital.
The concept of brain death is not something that can be easily determined at just a glance. It is an intricate course of tests and time to determine if the process of brain function is evident. An important series of questions to ask yourself is, “what constitutes brain death,” “how is it defined, “and “what happens afterwards?” Brain death is not to be confused with a coma because they are entirely different. Organ donation is the most common outcome of someone who is diagnosed brain dead. If this occurs first hand to you or your family member, would you go out of your way to determine if the doctors were correct? This essay will explain the tests that are performed on the body that is thought to be brain dead, the difference between brain death and a coma, and how families could possibly handle the results of a person being determined brain dead.
Death persists as the great equalizer for all, and every person holds their own right to pass away when they wish. Presently in America, laws protect and grant citizens the right to order when and how they shall die when the circumstances do arise. People can assign now what is called a Do-Not-Resuscitate order (DNR) to exercise their freedom to control their own fate. The DNR order allows each individual his or her inalienable right to control their own fate. In America, all people face the choice of how and when they prefer to pass away, and physicians must respect and grant autonomy to their moribund patients while leaving their own convictions out of the circumstances with respect to the DNR order.
The problem explored in the article was stated as a problem statement. In this article, the authors explain about the stressful situations of families having loved ones die in the intensive care unit. They also state that this problem is very important because there is poor communication between staff, physicians, and surrogates in the plan of care for end-of-life measures (Lautrette et al., 2007).
It is clear that in order for survival potential, the body must have the capacity to heal. I believe that such technology interfere with nature and immoral. Brain dead patients on life support only prolong the dying process. This possibly prolongs their suffrage too. Most family members rather have a pleasant memory during the process of death. Its involve numerous emotions, but I prefer a peaceful death. Most of us believe that all effort should be made to preserve life, but unfortunately not in the case of brain death. As humans being, the right to live is part of the basic needs, but we want to live healthy or at least be aware of our surroundings. Every humans being deserve all the best quality in life. No one wants to see their love ones through the process of dying, that’s one of the reasons we should stay strong and make it easier not only for them but for us
We as health care professionals need to work side by side with the families to provide the best care and decisions that are right by our patients. We have to be mindful of the cause and effect our course of treatment depicts for our patients. No individual wants to live in pain or misery, we all want to be healthy and happy and are willing to go great lengths to achieve this goal. Death is the final stage of life, but as we live and get older we start to prepare for death as to not fear death but accept it. Health care professionals may benefit from the opportunity to acknowledge, normalize and integrate death and dying into the continuum of life, both for themselves as well as their patients. (Sinclair, 2011) With advancements in technology and medicine we are living longer and fuller lives, and given time quality of life will only continue to improve.