Harvard criteria

The Harvard criteria are a set of guidelines used by doctors to determine if a person has died from brain death. They include tests showing no brain activity, loss of reflexes, and the inability to breathe without a machine. If a person meets all these criteria and the cause of their condition is known and irreversible, they are considered legally and medically dead based on brain function. The criteria help ensure consistent and accurate diagnosis of brain death, which is important for ethical and medical decision-making, especially regarding organ donation.