LifeShare University
LifeShare University
  • Home
  • General Donation
    • CMS Requirements
    • Hospital Contracts & HIPPA
    • Uniform Anatomical Gift Act
  • Healthcare Professionals
    • Post Donor Case Experience
    • Orientation Videos
    • Hospital Unit Binders
    • The Alliance Online Training CME Credits
    • Clinical Triggers for Timely Referral
    • Brain Death and Donation
    • Circulatory Death and Donation
    • DCD Donor Management
    • Living Donation
    • Tissue Donation
    • Approaching Donor Families
    • Operating Room
    • Family Support
  • Education
    • DCW
    • Secondary Education
    • Higher Education
    • Driver's Education
  • End-of-Life
    • Funeral Home Partnership
    • Religious Leaders
  • Advocates
    • Required Advocate Training
    • Request a Speaker
    • Event Booth Set Up
    • Talking Points
  • Tag Agency Partnership
  • Hospital Contracts & CMS Guidelines
  • Contact Us

Understanding Brain Death
What is Brain Death?

• The complete and irreversible loss of brain and brain stem function.
• An established medical and legal definition of death.
• Brain death is death.
• When the brain is injured, it swells. However, the brain is confined in the skull and has no room to swell, which leads
​  to brain death.
Picture
The above image shows the blood flow inside a normal, active brain. When someone severely injures their brain, the blood flow is cut off or restricted by pressure from the swelling brain.
Picture
Brain death occurs when the blood flow to the brain is entirely lost. The photo above is of a brain dead brain. (Images courtesy of Gift of a Lifetime)

How Tissue Donation Differs From Organ Donation

While a very small number of hospital deaths meet the criteria for organ donation (usually the patient must be brain dead), eye and tissue donation are open to nearly everyone. Hospitals are required to report all deaths to the recovery organization. If the tissue donor meets donor eligibility, the registry is checked. Once authorization is verified, or consent is given by the potential donor’s family, the donor is transported to the tissue recovery center. Each tissue donor can enhance up to 75 lives.

Picture
Picture
Picture
LifeShare University is brought to you by LifeShare Transplant Donor Services
Headquarters: 4705 NW Expressway • Oklahoma City, OK 73132 • (405) 840-5551
Tulsa Branch: 1924 S. Utica Avenue, Suite 1000, Tulsa, OK 74104
Clinical Innovation Center: 7001 NW 63rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73132
All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2023