Abstract
Legal brain death determination is performed when the patient had consented to organ donation under brain death conditions, and in many cases, a biomedical laboratory scientist is involved in electroencephalography (EEG) and blood gas measurements. Recently, we have performed legal brain death determination at our hospital for the first time in about 11 years. We were in charge of EEG and blood gas measurement during the apnea test, and we report our experience in this case because the preparations involved in legal brain death determination are extremely important for medical staff members. The patient was an adult female with subarachnoid hemorrhage. The preparations for EEG included checking the condition of the EEG equipment, checking the necessary supplies, and assigning roles to the medical staff members during the examination. Preparations for blood gas measurement included moving the blood gas equipment to the patient room and changing the calibration start time. Legal brain death determination began at 6:00 p.m. on the day of the tests. We entered the hospital room three hours before the tests to prepare for the EEG and apnea tests. The tests were completed without delay, owing in part to the preliminary preparations. Preparations for the EEG test and examination of its results were also completed without delay for the legal brain death determination in the second case. Legal brain death determination is often requested at short notice. Therefore, it is important to routinely check the condition of the equipment and involve the medical staff in preparations in advance.
