Mamale
“what are the laws regarding when organs may be harvested from an accident / shooting victim?”
ALl 50 states recongnise brain death. Once dead, with the families permission, when a recipient is identified the organs are removed.
” How do they determine clinical death?”
The exact criteria vary slightly state to state and often hospital to hospital.
Basicly the sequence is as follows:
1)casue is identified to ensure there is no reversibility.
2) There are certain prerequesites such as normal temp and blood pressure
3)a neuro exam is performed to ensure absence of brain stem reflexes including lack of spontaneous respiration
some hospitals have guidelines as to who can perform the above: any physician, an intensivest, neurologist, many require two exms spaced a certain number of hours apart. But to the best of my knowledge no medical body makes these recommendations nor does any state specifically require them.
Some hospitals require anicallry testing such as EEG to look for brain waves of angiography for blood flow but these are not generally required nor done.
“Can she be breathing on her own and still be a donor of a vital organ?”
By definition, no. And I cant stess this enough because I see this mistake repeatedly. If someone is breathing then they are not brain dead. To be brain dead, by definition, the person cannot be spontaneously breathing.
” Are brain scans done and how reliable are they?”
They are generally not done and are have variable reliablility as both false positives and negatives are not uncommon. Brain death is a clinical diagnoses much like “regular” death.