The test hospitals employ to determine whether or not British patients are brain dead is being reviewed by health officials.
The clinical examination, which entails a series of quick tests to evaluate the brain’s autonomic processes, is carried out when there is undeniable proof of major brain damage that cannot be repaired.
These include seeing how the patient responds to light shining in their eyes, pouring ice water in their ears, and briefly removing them off a ventilator to see if they attempt to breathe.
The test will now be reconsidered, according to Sky News, after a High Court judge learned that a very ill baby tried to breathe after doctors declared him dead.
A senior physician involved in the treatment of the four-month-old told Mr. Justice Hayden that she had never encountered a scenario like this before, and that a review is in progress. She also offered her regrets to the boy’s parents.
The baby’s future will be decided by Mr. Justice Hayden, according to hospital administrators.
They claim the youngster should only receive palliative treatment because he has a significant brain injury and is on a ventilator.
Archie Battersbee, 12, whose parents recently failed in a bid to overturn an order to end his treatment, and teenager Lewis Roberts, who was ‘certified dead’ when he was struck down by a van – but then opened his eyes and started breathing on his own six months later, are two high-profile cases of young patients who were controversially declared brain dead.
How Archie Battersbee was pronounced dead despite a legal dispute between his parents
12-year-old Archie Battersbee was discovered on April 7 with a ligature over his head and was unresponsive.
He is said to have choked himself while participating in an online “blackout challenge” and never came to.
Archie was being treated by medical professionals at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, who believed he was brain-stem dead and advised against continuing life support.
Bosses at the hospital’s controlling trust, Barts Health NHS Trust, had requested judgments regarding the best course of treatment for Archie.
Initially considering the issue, High Court judge Mrs. Justice Arbuthnot came to the conclusion that Archie had passed away.
However, Court of Appeal justices upheld his parents’ challenge to Mrs. Justice Arbuthnot’s judgments and ruled that Mr. Justice Hayden, a separate High Court judge, should evaluate the evidence.
After another hearing, he concluded that stopping Archie’s treatment would be in his best interests.
During a public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London, Mr. Justice Hayden is deliberating the evidence.
A fatwa, or judgement on a question of Islamic law, had reportedly been given from a madrasa, or Muslim school, in Bangladesh, it was previously reported to the hearing.
The youngster is on “life support” and is “guaranteed to be alive,” according to the fatwa, which is not addressed to any particular person.
It states that “He cannot be removed from life support in any manner and forced into the lap of death.”
According to Islamic Shariah, it is an absolute sin and haram.
According to Mr. Justice Hayden’s decision, neither the boy—referred to in court documents as “A”—nor the doctors engaged in the case can be named in media accounts of the incident.
Bosses at a London hospital trust in charge of the boy’s care got embroiled in a dispute with his parents earlier this summer over the boy’s treatment.
In their initial request for a death pronouncement, attorneys for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust described how tests revealed the boy was brain-stem dead.
But after more than a week had passed since doctors conducted brain stem testing and declared the boy dead, attorneys informed Mr. Justice Hayden how a nurse had observed the boy trying to breathe.
Instead of announcing the boy dead, specialists revoked “the clinical ascertainment of death,” and trust executives have now asked Mr. Justice Hayden to determine what steps are in the boy’s best interests.
The hospital’s legal team is led by Barrister David Lawson, who yesterday informed Mr. Justice Hayden that the boy is dying and argued that ventilation should terminate.
He claimed the infant’s brain impairment was “devastating” and requested the judge to order that the child immediately follow a “palliative care track.”
The boy’s Muslim parents want to keep him on life support.
According to what Mr. Justice Hayden heard, the parents saw their son’s attempt to breathe as a miracle and believed their prayers had been answered.
The physician said to the judge that she had “never seen it before.”
I believe that may be just beyond their parents’ comprehension, she opined. That the medical professionals who were caring for their infant could have committed such a terrible error.
After being “certified dead” for six months, a teenager speaks for the first time.
Lewis Roberts, a teen who was struck by a van and declared “certified dead,” spoke for the first time in six months last year.
On March 13, 2021, the 18-year-old was involved in a collision in his hometown of Leek, Staffordshire, and suffered severe head injuries.
A brain stem death, which occurs when a person on artificial life support loses all brain functions, was diagnosed after he was taken by air ambulance to Royal Stoke University Hospital.
According to the NHS, if someone is determined to be brain dead in the UK, the damage is deemed irreparable, and their death is legally recognised.
After being advised to say their final goodbyes, Mr. Roberts’ family chose to donate his organs in order to prolong his stay on life support and benefit seven other people.
On March 18, last year, a few hours before the procedure, Mr. Roberts opened his eyes and started breathing on his own.
Even though he was hospitalised and in critical condition, he still managed to tell his mother, “Mum, I love you,” last September.
The infant was still being kept on a ventilator, the judge was informed, despite testing showing he was brain-stem dead, due to an ongoing legal issue.
The doctor admitted before Mr. Justice Hayden, “I don’t know if there are additional situations like this.
“We are looking at it as professionals right now.”
The doctor said, “I can only say I am deeply sorry for what has happened,” as she broke down in tears at one point during her testimony.
It has merely increased the difficulty of an already challenging position.
The youngster suffered a significant brain injury, was “dying,” and would now benefit from palliative treatment, the doctor told the judge.
She predicted that he would go into cardiac arrest and that CPR would be unsuccessful.
She said, “He is no longer the little human being he once was.”
We still have his body here, but he is no longer the tiny creature he once was, the woman said.
He won’t return ever.
He ought to be permitted to leave.
Another expert informed the judge that the youngster could not be helped.
He claimed that brain tissue had become wet.
When Mr. Justice Hayden examined the evidence during an online hearing in July, specifics of the case and the boy’s attempts to breathe came to light.
The judge had stated that it was crucial that what had happened be made “public domain” because it could end up having “wider resonance.”
He described the situation as “totally unanticipated” and “unprecedented” in his knowledge.
Mr. Justice Hayden stated that he planned to provide a decision regarding the actions that were best for the infant on Friday.