3. Results Process Nearly all sources have indicated that there is little or no benefit to keeping a brain-dead patient on a ventilator. Taking a closer look; brain death criteria; organ donation; Taking into account the cost of keeping a patient on life support and case studies of those who have been misdiagnosed it will be possible to draw an accurate conclusion about whether there is any benefit to keeping a brain-dead patient on life support.3.1 Criteria for brain deathBrain death occurs when there is a loss of all functions of the brain and brainstem due to damaged brain cells. It is often called an irreversible coma because the damaged cells cannot regenerate and the patient is stuck in a coma-like state. (Wilson and Christensen, 2014)The two brain scans show the contrast between a conscious patient and a brain-dead patient. The colored or bright region in the normal conscious brain scan highlights active areas, performing tasks such as thinking, involuntary and voluntary movement. The image showing brain death is completely black, suggesting that no brain activity is occurring compared to a person with normal consciousness. The purple region around the brain represents the cerebral fluid around the brain. The criterion or definition of brain death was reviewed in 1968 by a committee at Harvard Medical School and is part of the criteria used today. They defined it as when a patient; does not respond to stimuli; he cannot move or breathe without the aid of a ventilator and has no brainstem reflexes. Several tests are performed to determine whether a patient meets these criteria and this can be done by doctors and neurologists. A brain dead patient is legally dead and a brain... middle of paper... deserves to be buried. Retrieved 2014 from sundial.csun.edu: http://sundial.csun.edu/2014/01/brain-dead-patients-deserve-to-be-laid-to-rest/Pawar, A. K. (2009). the diagnosis of brain death. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2772257/ unknown. (2013). Frequently asked questions. Retrieved 2014 from odf.org.za: https://www.odf.org.za/2013-06-11-09-17-45/faq.html unknown. (2011, October 27). inside the human brain. Retrieved January 19, 2014, from nia.nih.gov: http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/part-1-basics-healthy-brain/inside-human-brain Unknown. (2014). what is life support. Retrieved 2014 from Wisegeek.org: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-life-support.htmWickline, S. (2014). A brain dead mother, a million dollar baby. Retrieved 2014 from medpagetoday.com: http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/Pregnancy/43736