Donation can occur after the neurologic determination of death, known as brain death. Brain death is the irreversible cessation of all brain function, including the brain stem. Patients are declared brain dead by an attending physician privileged in brain death evaluation and the death is certified by one other attending physician. Organ and tissue donation moves forward after the family or legal next of kin has been notified of the patient’s donor designation or they consent to donation. Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network teams, in collaboration with medical staff, clinically manage the donor until the recovery of organs in the operating room. Up until then, the patient remains on the ventilator.

Donation after circulatory death occurs after ventilator support is removed and the irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions occurs within a specified time frame. The patient has a severe injury from trauma, cerebral vascular accident, anoxic event, or other ventilator-dependent event. After the family or next-of-kin elects to withdraw ventilator support (but prior to the actual extubation), Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network will provide them the opportunity to authorize donation or notify them of their loved one’s donor designation. Once organs have been allocated for transplant, the withdrawal of support takes place in the operating room. Circulatory death is declared and a 5-minute waiting period is observed before proceeding with organ recovery.