Before the use of life support machines, people with brain stem death would almost always die within minutes. Today, body cells can be kept alive indefinitely by using life support systems, even when the brain stem is no longer functioning.

This allows doctors to remove organs from somebody who is dead and use them for transplants.

Organ donation

If the deceased person carried an organ donor card, signed the NHS organ donor register, or has otherwise consented to a transplant before the brain stem death occurred, there is no legal requirement for the transplant team to obtain consent from a partner or relative.

However, most primary care trusts (PCTs) will not do a transplant if relatives or a partner have strong objections to a transplant going ahead.

If the deceased person had not made their feelings about organ transplants known, hospital staff have to make reasonable enquires to check that:

• the deceased person had not expressed an objection to their body being used in this way after their death
• there are no objections from a spouse, partner or relatives
• there are no religious reasons why a transplant cannot go ahead

Deciding whether to carry out a transplant can be a difficult decision for partners and relatives. Hospital staff are aware of these difficulties and will ensure that the issue is handled sensitively and thoughtfully.

See the Health A-Z topic on Organ donation for more information on this process.