Brain death is the irreversible loss of all brain and brainstem functions. In contrast to brain death, brainstem functions remain present in a persistent vegetative state.
Brain death usually follows cerebral edema caused by trauma or a vascular event such as bleeding or embolism, and hypoxia leading to necrosis of brain tissue because of interrupted blood supply. Imaging methods such as Doppler ultrasonography and CT angiography can demonstrate the absence of blood circulation in the brain.
People diagnosed with brain death are considered medically dead, and recovery to life is not possible. Despite full medical support in intensive care units, other vital organs generally lose their functions within approximately 72 hours, according to the source text.
Deceased-donor organ transplantation cannot be performed before brain death has been diagnosed. The source describes diagnosis by two physicians: one neurologist or neurosurgeon and one anesthesiologist or intensive care specialist.
Whereas the reported brain-death notification rate in Europe and the United States is between 10 and 30 per million population, the source states a rate of only 2.5–3 per million in Türkiye.
The source reports approximately 1,500–1,800 brain-death notifications annually in Türkiye, with family donation consent for only about 25% of these deceased individuals. It states that low donation rates result in deceased-donor transplantation accounting for only about 20% of transplants, compared with higher proportions in Western countries.
If the organs of all potential deceased donors were donated, the source estimates that approximately 1,200 additional liver and 2,400 additional kidney transplants could be performed each year, making these organs available to patients on waiting lists rather than losing them.
Considering the estimated annual numbers of 3,000–3,500 kidney transplants and 1,000–1,500 liver transplants in Türkiye cited in the source, the magnitude of unused organs becomes even more striking.