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‘Five-minute rule’ holds true for cardiac death of organ donors: study
A Canadian-led research project has confirmed that it is safe to procure organs for transplant from dying patients once the heart has stopped for a full five minutes, in newly published findings in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers monitored blood pressure and electrocardiographic (ECG) waveforms in 631 dying patients following the removal of life-supporting equipment and medication in 20 intensive care units in Canada, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. On average it took an hour for all signs of life to end, including no heart activity. In 14 per cent of the patients, the heart restarted briefly after having no pulse for up to four minutes and 20 seconds, but all the patients ultimately died.