**5.7 Brain death on ECMO**

Progressive cerebral edema and large hemorrhages, whether from insults prior to cannulation or secondary to complications from ECMO, can ultimately lead to brain death in patients supported on ECMO. Diagnosis of brain death can be challenging on ECMO, but is important to determine as it is medically and ethically unreasonable to continue ECMO for a patient who has met criteria for brain death.
