On June 11, 2016, MOHAN foundation conducted a training session for the doctors and staff of critical care units held in the board room (second floor) at Artemis Hospital.

A steering committee meeting held earlier in the month of January had proposed an action plan to promote organ donation activities in the hospital. The training session held on June 11, 2016, was part of that action plan.

Col Ramprasad (Senior Advisor, Anaesthesia & Critical Care, Army R&R Hospital) took the session and the following areas were addressed by him:

What is brain death?

How does it differ from natural death?

How to identify brain death?

How to confirm brain death?

Certification of brain death

Dr Muneet requested Col. Ramprasad to share some of the cases that he had certified in his hospital and the counselling approach used by him to convince the families of potential brain dead patients for organ donation. He shared with the group  that once the result of first apnoea testing comes positive then to explain the brain death condition of the patient he uses the word 'death' and not 'brain death' to the family. Once the family understands and accepts the condition of the patient then either the counsellor or he himself initiates counselling for organ donation. In cases where consent is not given, then no active intervention is done though the patient is kept on the ventilator till cardiac death happens.

At this point Dr. Reshma Tewari (Head, ICU, Unit 1) shared with the group that in such cases where consent is not given, the process followed in her unit is to do the second apnoea test, the findings of both the tests are recorded in the Brain Stem Death Certification Form (Form 10) duly signed by the Board of Experts and the patient is then taken off the ventilator. Dr Ramdip Ray (Senior Consultant, Liver Transplant & GI Surgery) agreed with Dr Tewari and added that the Transplant law allows it. 

Around 25 participants (doctors & nursing team leaders) attended the session.