SCCM Resource Library-The Donation Process: Brain Dead and Cardiac Death Donors

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Marie Carmel-Elly discusses the donation process for brain dead and cardiac death donors. Suitable organ donation candidates are typically patients under 70 years old and do not have certain exclusions such as HIV, active cancer, or severe infection. The Maastricht system classifies types of deaths into four categories, with patients in the controlled category being eligible for potential donation. Brain dead patients present physiological challenges in their management due to disrupted regulation that leads to various symptoms and manifestations. Optimization in brain dead patients includes cardiovascular resuscitation, lung protective ventilation, careful volume resuscitation, hormone replacement therapy, electrolyte management, and glucose control. Donations after cardiac death involve intentional withdrawal of life support measures, and the process is similar to brain dead donation with the withdrawal of support taking place in the operating room. Donors after cardiac death tend to be older and have experienced anoxic brain injury. Currently, DCD heart transplants are rare in the United States, but there are programs in other countries, and normothermic regional perfusion may increase the donor pool for heart transplants.

Asset Subtitle

Ethics End of Life, Procedures, 2022

Asset Caption

This session will cover the most pertinent topics related to managing organ donors, including pronouncing brain death, laws governing the process of managing organ donors and authorization for organ donation, and review of catastrophic brain injury guidelines.

Meta Tag

Content Type Presentation

Knowledge Area Ethics End of Life

Knowledge Area Procedures

Knowledge Level Foundational

Knowledge Level Intermediate

Knowledge Level Advanced

Membership Level Select

Tag Medical Legal Issues

Tag Brain Death

Tag Organ Donation

Year 2022

Keywords

brain dead donors

cardiac death donors

organ donation candidates

physiological challenges

donations after cardiac death

DCD heart transplants

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