Dead mother incubator

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

2 days is not much of a big deal here guys. But here is where the controversy is, I don't think many of you know what it takes to keep someone on "lifesupport" when they are brain dead. The usual goal is to preserve organ function for harvest. In that case it is not simply a case of organ preservation, it is a problem related to organ preservation without doing harm to the baby. Even one or two days would most likely put the baby at some risk, the longer the need to preserve the fetus in utero, the greater the risk to the mother and infant. There is no way anyone is going to say there is no risk to the fetus in this case. So no it is not that simple of a decision.

So what you're saying is that while giving the mother steroids to develop the lungs is necessary, if that were to be ongoing it could cause damage to the mothers organs which in turn would endanger the health of the baby? Or are there other health risks that laypeople wouldn't know about unless they were in that situation, in which case, can you give us a rundown? Might help people understand your point better.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

So what you're saying is that while giving the mother steroids to develop the lungs is necessary, if that were to be ongoing it could cause damage to the mothers organs which in turn would endanger the health of the baby? Or are there other health risks that laypeople wouldn't know about unless they were in that situation, in which case, can you give us a rundown? Might help people understand your point better.

Sure, no prob.

The administration of steroids is common to women who are in premature labor, specifically because studies have shown that you can help speed the maturity of the lungs of the fetus and improve, but not ensure, their outcome, morbidity and mortality.

When people are brain dead and on life support their bodies shut down. The only way to keep them alive is through ventilatory support and the administration of quite a few drugs to maintain, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygenation, perfusion of the kidneys, etc. These other drugs are the things that can affect the blood flow to the fetus, and in many cases affect the fetus directly. These direct and indirect effects can be detrimental to the fetus. Twenty-four and better forty-eight or seventy-two hours of treatment with steroids is better, but all of that is balanced against the fight to keep the body alive, esp if she is an organ donor.

[jinx]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Yes I read it. Steroids were not the only thing she received. The admin of steroids to pregnant women is a normal thing if they are threatening premature birth.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

When people are brain dead and on life support their bodies shut down. The only way to keep them alive is through ventilatory support... Twenty-four and better forty-eight or seventy-two hours of treatment with steroids is better, but all of that is balanced against the fight to keep the body alive, esp if she is an organ donor.

Yeah, all of this was covered in the article

Doctors use a ventilator to maintain breathing while the circulation is managed using IV tubes to provide fluids, drugs and blood transfusions.
Babies born at 25 weeks have a 67 per cent prospect of survival, according to statistics from the newborn charity Bliss.

This is the usual point at which doctors decide to deliver, giving the baby a good chance of life while minimising the time during which the mother's condition could go downhill.
They administer steroids in the hours beforehand to help premature babies with immature lungs breathe more easily after birth. The baby is delivered by caesarean section. The life-support system for the mother is then switched off.
Three years ago a brain-dead American woman, Susan Torres, was maintained on life support for nearly three months after a massive stroke.... He wanted her to be kept on an incubator and artificially respirated and hydrated to give their baby daughter a chance of survival. The 26-year-old mother was only 17 weeks pregnant when she died.

I just don't see any organ donation controversy.