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Brain death testing has been carried out.

When the brain has been badly damaged and can no longer perform vital functions, this is known as brain death. Brain functionality has been irretrievably lost. Machines and drugs can keep the heart beating and the blood circulating. Life is impossible without the machinery.

Brain death tests must be carried out by at least 2 specially trained doctors, independently of one another. Brain death tests consist of a various steps in a prescribed sequence.

The first step examined whether the brain is badly damaged. The cause of the brain damage was also looked at.

The second step examined the brain’s functions. There are 3 indicators that the brain has completely ceased to function. One of these signs is deep unconsciousness. With a person who is deeply unconscious, there is no reaction, either conscious or sub-conscious, to painful stimuli. Certain reflexes were also examined. A reflex is a body’s response to a stimulus. One such reflex, for example, is the pupils’ response to light. The pupils are the dark, round areas in the center of the eye. The pupils usually get wider when light falls into the eye. In a case of brain death, the pupils remain fixed. Testing is also done to see whether breathing will function without medical support. To do this, the respiration machines are switched off briefly.

In the third step, testing is done to see whether the brain’s functions have been irretrievably lost. To do this, the previous tests can be repeated after a certain time. Additional tests can also be carried out. For example, tests can be carried out on the brain’s blood supply or on brain waves.

The tests showed that the brain is dead.