Thiruvananthapuram: A top-level committee of the Kerala health department has decided to make brain death determination in the state compulsory. The decision comes as an effort to reduce misunderstanding related to it and promote organ transplantation in the state.

According to the new decision, all the hospitals in Kerala have been asked to submit a report after determining patient brain dead. It is reported that all the government medical hospitals in the state will have a Transplant and Procurement Management (TPM) facility.

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Misunderstandings regarding post-death organ transplantation is expected to reduce and the number of post-death organ transplantation is expected to increase, once the facility is introduced in all the government medical colleges.

With this facility, all the government medical colleges in Kerala can determine brain death and obtain consent from relatives for organ transplantation. Doctors in the state will be given special training. The doctors’ training will begin on Tuesday and will be conducted by experts from Donation and Transplantation Institute (DTI) in Spain and Kerala Network of Organ Sharing(KNOS).

This kind of facility has been introduced in government hospitals for the first time in the state. Expert doctors in Neurology and Anesthesia departments will be responsible for TPM.

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After conducting appropriate tests, if a patient is determined to be brain dead, the consent of the relatives must be sought for organ transplantation. If consent is not obtained from the relatives, life support systems will be removed.

The recommendation comes after considering that life support systems including ventilator and ICU are denied to other patients because of a delay in confirming brain death.