As per official medial data in India every 20 second a person suffers brain stroke and if medical help is not provided within 4 hrs then it may result in brain death and because of this delay every 2 minutes a person dies.
Registration of Birth and Death Act (RBDA) 1969 defines
death as "The permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time
after live birth has taken place." While the Transplantation of Human
Organs (THO) Act 1994 defines death as "Permanent disappearance of all
evidence of life, by reason of brain stem death or in a cardio-pulmonary sense
at any time after live birth has taken place." Therefore a person who is
brain dead under RBDA Act cannot be declared dead unless his organs are donated
under THO Act.
It is this difference in definition which creates certain important issues as doctors will refuse to remove the life support ventilator system in case of a brain dead person unless the family agrees to organ donation and the THO Act comes in play. If family refuses to donate the organs then the doctors have no choice but to continue with the life support system thus creating extra financial burden, mental agony and the extra burden on the already scares ventilator assisted beds in ICU of hospitals as the gap between a brain death and the cardiac death may be days.
Of course the decision whether to donate organs or not depends on the patient if he has written an advance deceleration or living will or on the family of the patient. Irrespective of whether you have donated your organs in a legal manner or not your legal heirs/family will be asked whether they wish/your organs to be donated or not, unless an advance declaration or living will is produced.
It is this difference in definition which creates certain important issues as doctors will refuse to remove the life support ventilator system in case of a brain dead person unless the family agrees to organ donation and the THO Act comes in play. If family refuses to donate the organs then the doctors have no choice but to continue with the life support system thus creating extra financial burden, mental agony and the extra burden on the already scares ventilator assisted beds in ICU of hospitals as the gap between a brain death and the cardiac death may be days.
Of course the decision whether to donate organs or not depends on the patient if he has written an advance deceleration or living will or on the family of the patient. Irrespective of whether you have donated your organs in a legal manner or not your legal heirs/family will be asked whether they wish/your organs to be donated or not, unless an advance declaration or living will is produced.
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