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Once the heart muscle stops beating, it starts to decompose very quickly. A person can be clinically dead, but still have a beating heart. Sometimes hearts are kept beating after death to sae them for transplant surgeries.

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12y ago

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dead as a doornail means it cant ever be used again


Can a deceased persons social security number be used again?

No, the social security number should not be used again. If you are caught, it is a crime and may face jail time.


Why do persons of the same age have different heart rates?

a young persons heart is more recently fully developed giving it a peak advantadge over an old and used up heart


The organs for most transplants are taken from people whose hearts are still beating?

Those people are brain dead and are on life support machines which keep the heart and organs working. If that machine is turned off the persons heart would stop beating. So effectively they are dead but a machine keeps the heart going. If the person has signed the donor register and the next of kin agree then that heart is used to save someone elses life. This is of great comfort to the donors next of kin that they know their death was not in vain.


How do forensic scientists use hair and teeth?

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How long after a donor dies can the organs still be used?

An cadaverous organ donor can either be a "heart-beating donor" (aka, brain dead) or a "non-heart beating donor". Those in the first category have suffered a severe head injury, meaning they will never regain consciousness or recover, but their heart is still pumping blood around their body. Whereas those in the other group have suffered some event which has stopped their heart - e.g a sudden cardiac arrest. Those in the "non-heart beating donor" category are never used for heart transplants, since their heart has been the cause of their death; their heart does not work. Only those in the "heart-beating donor" category are used for heart transplants; in these donors, the heart does not stop beating until it is removed from their body - the heart is not "dead" as such, but the donor is brain dead so has no use for a functioning heart. And just because the heart ceases to beat when outside of the body does not mean it is "dead". Possibly your question should be "how long do you get between harvesting a heart for transplant until it becomes unusable?", since using a "dead" heart for a transplant would be utterly pointless. However, if that was your question, you get around 4-5 hours.


What size is the heart at birth?

The size of the human heart in any person is approximately the size of that persons fist. So if you are looking at your own fist that is about the size of your heart. Same size perspective can be used on a new born baby by looking at their hand and seeing what size their fist is. Since all humans are different sizes this is the easiest way to tell what approximate size that persons heart is regardless of age.


Can the heart be donated if the body is dead?

Yes, body parts are often used in transplants when donated with permission by the cadaver or relatives.


Can a embryo grow without a heartbeat?

No. It is dead with no heartbeat. Actually it does, since an embryo has no heart. It is the mother's heart that is keeping the embryo alive. It isn't until it is a fetus until it has a heart. While its heart it not being fully used and has a hole in it that keeps it from fully working, its heart does beat.


What is a defibulater?

A defibrillator is a medical device that delivers an electric shock to the heart to restore normal heart rhythm in cases of sudden cardiac arrest. It is used in emergency situations to help save lives by correcting a dangerous heart rhythm.


Can a person use a deceased persons social security number?

No, the social security number should not be used again. If you are caught, it is a crime and may face jail time.


Why people declared dead when the brain stops functioning?

Because there's got to be a line somewhere at which point a doctor can say "this person is now dead." It used to be when the heart stopped, but we've since discovered that it's possible to restart the heart if it's done quickly enough.