Brain Dead: Why does brain death happen, know its symptoms and causes, can a person recover after brain death?


In the last few weeks, we all must have heard about some medical terms through the news. Nishant, who became the youngest organ donor (16 months) of the capital delhi, was declared brain dead by the doctors. There were also reports of famous comedian Raju Srivastava admitted to AIIMS delhi being declared brain dead, although this is not officially confirmed.

What is the status of brain dead, is it an indicator of death? There must be many such questions in the mind of all of us. In this article, we will try to understand in detail brain death.


Doctors say brain death is known as the legal definition of death in medical language. Declaring someone brain dead means that their brain has stopped functioning in all respects, that is, every physical and mental activity has been stopped by the brain from sending signals to the body to the ability to understand or speak.


Brain death cannot be cured, it is a permanent condition. After all, why and how does the condition of brain death happen? Let us understand this.

Severe brain injury, severe stroke, or certain physical conditions in which the brain is severely affected can cause brain death. When doctors declare someone's brain dead, it means that the brain is no longer functioning in any way. If that person is on a ventilator, then organs like the heart, kidney, liver, etc. can be kept alive by artificially breathing. However, these organs can also survive as long as the person is on a ventilator and oxygen is being artificially supplied to his body.

It can also be understood that brain death means that the brain has died but some parts of the body are working through oxygen artificially. Doctors say that although a person is confirmed based on many types of tests before declaring brain death, there are some conditions and symptoms such that it can be inferred that the person is brain dead. The pulleys do not respond to light. No reaction to pain.


Eye blinking when touching the surface of the eye (corneal reflex). Do not move the eyes even after pouring ice water into the ear. The electroencephalogram test showed no brain activity. Doctors say, the condition of brain death is permanent, it cannot be cured. After a patient is declared brain dead, the decision of organ donation is made after talking to the family, so that the living organs of the person can be used for someone else. As soon as the body stops getting oxygen after being removed from the ventilator, other parts of the body also become inactive and it is considered dead.

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