“There is an international classification for brain death. It looks at this central portion of your brainstem to see whether you have partial or total loss of function. Brain death is the total loss of function. In other words, if a doctor gives your brain an ideal environment, will it sustain basic functions of life?” explains Dr Beverly Cheserem, an Assistant Professor and Consultant Neurosurgeon at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in a recent interview. Internationally, the time of death is at the declaration of brainstem death. Around the world, once a doctor confirms brainstem death, it allows them to take the patient off the ventilator. Death is often a process, rather than an event.