Legal Definitions - life-sustaining treatment

Life-sustaining treatment refers to any medical intervention or procedure designed to prolong a person's life, even if it does not cure their underlying illness or condition.

The primary purpose of such treatments is to maintain vital bodily functions and extend life, rather than to reverse the disease process itself. Decisions about initiating or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment are often complex and involve careful consideration of a patient's wishes, prognosis, and quality of life.

• Example 1: Mechanical Ventilation

  Consider an individual suffering from advanced, irreversible lung disease who experiences acute respiratory failure. They might be placed on a mechanical ventilator, a machine that breathes for them by delivering oxygen into their lungs. This intervention sustains their breathing and keeps them alive, but it does not cure their underlying lung disease or improve its long-term progression.

• Example 2: Dialysis for End-Stage Kidney Disease

  A patient with end-stage kidney failure, where their kidneys have permanently lost the ability to filter waste from their blood, may receive regular dialysis treatments. Dialysis machines perform the function of the kidneys, removing toxins and excess fluids from the body. While this treatment is essential for prolonging the patient's life, it does not restore kidney function or cure the underlying kidney disease.

• Example 3: Implanted Cardiac Devices

  For someone with a severe heart condition that causes dangerously slow or irregular heartbeats, an implanted device like a pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) can be life-sustaining. These devices deliver electrical impulses to regulate the heart's rhythm or shock it back into a normal rhythm if it stops. This intervention keeps the heart functioning and prolongs life, but it does not repair the damaged heart muscle or cure the underlying cardiac disease.