(Epoch Health) – t was 1989, and she was still a resident anesthesiologist, Dr. Heidi Klessig recalled in her book, “The Brain Death Fallacy.”
One day, her attending anesthesiologist told her to prepare a brain-dead organ donor for organ removal surgery.
Upon examining the patient, Dr. Klessig was surprised to find that the man looked exactly like every other critically ill, living patient and, in fact, better than most.
“He was warm, his heart was beating, and his monitors showed stable vital signs,” wrote Dr. Klessig. “Nevertheless, on his bedside exam, he checked all the boxes for brain death, and the neurologist declared him ‘dead.’” CONTINUE