Definitions of death Use: Criteria for death in patients on a ventilator. Allows for treatment to be withdrawn and/or organs to be donated. Criteria: Patient must be apnoeic. Brainstem tests must be performed to confirm death on 2 separate occasions by 2 people each time (they can be the same each time). The gap between should be of sufficient time to reassure next of kin. Other causes of loss consciousness must have been excluded. There must be a known and irreversible cause of death. Brainstem reflex tests: Fixed pupils unresponsive to light. No corneal reflex. No vestibulo-ocular reflex: no eye movements in response to 50 ml of cold ice water injected into each ear. No response to supra-orbital pressure. No gag reflex. No cough reflex in response to suction catheter. No respiratory movements upon disconnecting the ventilator. Cardiac death Cessation of cardiac function. These patients are rarely able to donate organs as the death is typically in th...