BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Organ transplantation is now an accepted option for end stage organ disease in well selected patients. This position is a result of great advances in the field of immunology, critical care medicine and pharmacology. However, organ transplantation is now suffering from its own success as the number of patients in waiting lists is dramatically increasing the same is not happening with organ availability results in increasing number of mortalities while waiting for transplantation. Transplant community responses to this situation consist of reviewing the criteria for organ acceptability and developing new strategies to get organs as the called non-heart beating organ donors. CONTENTS: However the physiopathology of brain death and its consequences are now better understood helping in such patients' management. The purpose of this review is to help to identify the most important clinical and therapeutic aspects related to its physiopathology as depletion of vasoactives substances and its importance in the management of cardio and respiratory systems. We also discuss endocrine and hidroelectrolytes disturbances. Organ specific data are also focused in order to offer a whole view of donor management. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to observe that new technologies will be available in the near future to diminish the low rate between organ availability and organ waiting patients. In conclusion, with the raising numbers in transplant waiting lists and scarce resources of organs make us believe that we have to improve the management of multi organ donors and the preservation technology in order to reduce the mortality in such waiting lists.
brain death; lung; organ transplantation; tissue donors
