Brain death protocol
The brain death protocol describes the examinations that a doctor is legally obliged to perform to determine brain death.
Brain death is the complete and irreversible loss of brain functions, including the brainstem and medulla oblongata. The brain death protocol is followed when organ and tissue donation is being considered and there is a suspicion of brain death.
Legal protocol
The brain death protocol is strictly and meticulously formulated and legally established in Appendix 2 of the decree on the determination of death in post-mortem organ donation. The brain death protocol is the same for every Dutch hospital.
Steps in the brain death protocol
A patient is only declared brain dead after a team of specialized doctors has verified this via a fixed step-by-step plan: the brain death protocol.
Download the step-by-step plan
Download the brain death form*
*The brain death form is part of the legal brain death protocol, see Appendix 2, table 4 'Brain death determination form'.