Brain Dead patients on Life Support

Introduction The brain has various parts that contribute to function in everyday life, parts that control spontaneous movement, ability to adjust thinking, ability to talk, ability to recall information. The cerebellum controls balance and coordination, and finally controls the brainstem consisting of medulla and spinal cord, and controls all involuntary functions such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and so on. Even if someone is asleep, the brainstem can perform these actions.

Many patients with brain death are located in life support equipment. The latest example is a 13-year-old African-American girl born in Auckland, California, admitted to sleep apnea (breathing repeatedly stopped and restarted during hospitalization), the tonsils were removed in 2013 and brain death did. On December 12th she suffered a large amount of blood loss by surgery (Schmidt 1). She had no living will before surgery so she asked her parents to act as an agent to make a decision for her. She has received life support for four years. When her parents decided to unplug, Jahi stopped breathing and her heart stopped beating. She was declared a second death on June 22, 2018 (2)

My family thinks that patients who are wearing mechanical ventilators or respirators are still alive as the patient is breathing. Even though the brain dies, the heart is still beating. The use of life support is that it deals with traumatic events, has more time to accept situations, to grieve, and to maintain longer life for possible solutions. But it is possible for someone to live without their consent, which may prolong their suffering. The disadvantage of this situation is it difficult to judge when the plug can be withdrawn? For JahiMcMath maintaining life, her parents believe that it is morally wrong to make someone die according to their religious beliefs (Schmidt 1). In terms of emotion, Jahi's family is difficult to face in a brain-dead situation, and they become difficult if they are asked to unplug. However, after four years of life support, the organs of Jahi began to stop functioning.