If you've searched the internet for private medical insurance that covers brain stem death then you are probably for looking for trusted UK based health insurance providers that will cover your brain stem death.
Our advice when looking for health insurance that covers brain stem death is to speak to a insurance broker. Health insurance is very complex and if you want absolute certainty that brain stem death is covered you should consult with a medical insurance broker who can explain which policy providers will cover this medical condition and which will exclude it.
There are many advantages to using a insurance broker but the biggest by far is that you're using their insurance training at no cost. They are paid by the insurer (Aviva or Bupa etc) rather than by you so it costs you no extra to use their services.
- Do you reside in many different areas? Some will give you a lower policy premium than offers. A broker will be able to advise whats best.
- Do you have a hobby that may invalidate your insurance claim? A broker will know this critical information.
- If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your insurance policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different insurance policies?
- You've lean't you're at risk of developing a certain condition and want to know which policy provider offers the largest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you huge amounts of time and effort.
You can call around every medical insurance provider you can find and ask if they cover brain stem death, however this will be a very time consuming process. Each insurer will ask for your medical history because its not normally a simple yes or not if a medical condition is covered or not.
Its much quicker to speak to one medical insurance broker which will know which policy providers on the market cover brain stem death and under what terms they do or don't cover it.
Brain Stem Death Information
Brain stem death is when a person no longer has any brain stem functions, and has permanently lost the potential for consciousness and the capacity to breathe.
When this happens, a ventilator keeps the person's heart beating and oxygen circulating through their bloodstream.
A person is confirmed as being dead when their brain stem function is permanently lost.
Confirming death used to be straightforward. Death was said to occur when the heart stopped beating and a person was unresponsive and no longer breathing. The lack of oxygen, which occurred as a result of no blood flow, quickly led to the permanent loss of brain stem function.
Confirming death is now more complex, because it's possible to keep the heart beating after the brain stem has permanently stopped functioning. This can be done by keeping a person on a ventilator, which allows the body and heart to be artificially oxygenated. However, that person won't ever regain consciousness or start breathing again.
Once the brain stem has permanently stopped functioning, there's no way of reversing it and the heart will eventually stop beating, even if a ventilator continues to be used.
To save a person's family and friends from unnecessary suffering, once there's clear evidence that brain death has occurred, the person will be disconnected from the ventilator.
The brain stem is the lower part of the brain that's connected to the spinal cord (part of the central nervous system in the spinal column).
The brain stem is responsible for regulating most of the body's automatic functions that are essential for life. These include:
The brain stem also relays information to and from the brain to the rest of the body, so it plays an important role in the brain’s core functions, such as consciousness, awareness and movement.
After brain death, it's not possible for someone to remain conscious.
Brain death can occur when the blood and/or oxygen supply to the brain is stopped. This can be caused by:
Brain death can also occur as a result of:
There's a difference between brain death and a vegetative state, which can occur after extensive brain damage.
Someone in a vegetative state can show signs of wakefulness – for example, they may open their eyes, but not respond to their surroundings.