Categories of Non-Heart-Beating Donors
| Category & description | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dead on arrival | Victims of an accident, cardiac arrest or suicide outside the hospital. Resuscitation not initiated or stopped before arrival at the hospital. A protocol is needed for emergency personnel to initiate and continue resuscitation if these donors are to be made use of. |
| 2 | Unsuccessful resuscitation | Victims of an accident, cardiac arrest or suicide who receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation. If the treating team decides to discontinue resuscitation, the patient could be considered as a potential non-heart-beating donor at that time. |
| 3 | Awaiting cardiac arrest | Situation in which active care is withdrawn by the treating team in the intensive care unit. |
| 4 | Cardiac arrest while brain dead | Patients who suffer an unexpected cardiac arrest either during the process of being identified as brain dead or after the determination of brain death but before they are taken to the operating room. |