Centre forms panel to draft Brain Stem Death Certification Guidelines
Medical Experts
New Delhi: The Department of Health and Family Welfare (Medical Services Section) has announced the constitution of a National Level Brain Stem Death (BSD) Experts Committee to draft and finalise National BSD Certification Guidelines, including paediatric BSD guidelines, BSD training modules, curriculum, and BSD Performa for reporting, monitoring, and auditing.
The list of experts finalized by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) for inclusion in the committee includes: Dr. J. Balavenkata Subramanian, President, Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists; Dr. Sukhminder Jit Singh Bajwa, Secretary, Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists and Professor & Head, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, GSMCH, Patiala; Dr. Anirban Hom Choudhuri, Director, Professor & Head, Critical Care Medicine, VMMC & SJ Hospital, New Delhi; Dr. Bharat Jagiasi, General Secretary, ISCCM and Director, Critical Department, Kokilaben Hospital, Navi Mumbai; Prof. Dr. Pradip Kumar Bhattacharya, President, Indian Society of Critical Care; Dr. Sourabh Sharma, Assistant Professor, Nephrology, Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi; Dr. Ridhima Sharma, Associate Professor, Anaesthesia and Critical Care, AIIMS Nagpur; Dr. Santvana Kohli Arora, Associate Professor, Critical Care Medicine, VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi; Dr. Deepak Gupta, Professor and Consultant Neurosurgeon, Department of Neurosurgery, AIIMS & JPN Apex Trauma Centre, New Delhi; Dr. Amlendu Yadav, Professor and Head, Emergency Medicine, ABVIMS & Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi; Dr. R. M. Chhabra, Senior Consultant Physician, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh and Saroj Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi.
Other notable members include- Dr. Srinivas Samavedam, President Elect ISCCM and Chief Intensivist, Ramdevrao Hospital, Hyderabad; Dr. Daljit Singh, President, Neurological Society of India; Dr. Madhuri Kurdi, Professor & Head, Anaesthesiology, KIMS, Hubli; Dr. Sheila Naynan Mayatra, Professor, Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai; Dr. J. Divatia, Head, Critical Care, Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai; Dr. Arpita Ray Chaudhury, Professor, Nephrology, NBMCH/IPGMER Kolkata; Dr. Vivek Kute, Professor and Unit Head, Nephrology and Transplantation, IKDRC-ITS & Gujarat University of Transplantation Sciences, Ahmedabad; Dr. Sangeeta Ravat, President IAN and Dean, KEM Medical College, Mumbai; Dr. Meenakshisundaram U, Secretary IAN and Director Neurology, MGM Healthcare, Chennai; Dr. Roop Gursahani, Senior Consultant Neurology, Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai; along with one forensic expert from a central government hospital and one legal expert from the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The committee also includes Prof. & HOD, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Incharge Trauma Centre & Central Emergency, Dean Research, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi; Dr. Easwer H.V., Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum; Dr. Swagata Tripathy, Past Vice President, Society of Neurocritical Care and Professor, Department of Anaesthesia & Critical Care, AIIMS Bhubaneswar; Prof. Dr. Yogesh N. Parikh, Secretary General, Indian Academy of Pediatrics and Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Government Medical College & Civil Hospital, Surat; and Prof. Dr. G. V. Basavaraja, National President, Indian Academy of Pediatrics.
The broad terms of reference for the committee include preparing national certification guidelines, a paediatric BSD framework, training modules, curriculum, and a performa for reporting and monitoring. Further discussions will cover identification of BSD in ICUs, certification criteria, definitions of potential and actual donors, surveillance and audit mechanisms, ICU performance evaluation, recognition of well-performing ICUs, quality monitoring, withdrawal of life support, and other related matters, stated the order.
