Legal Definitions - life-sustaining procedures

Life-sustaining procedures

Life-sustaining procedures are medical treatments that are used to prolong or sustain a person's life without curing the underlying medical condition. These procedures are also known as life-prolonging treatments or life-support measures. Examples of life-sustaining procedures include:

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Mechanical ventilation
• Hemodialysis

These procedures are used when a person's body is unable to perform vital functions on its own, such as breathing or filtering waste from the blood. While these procedures can help keep a person alive, they do not address the underlying medical condition and are not a cure.

For example, if a person's heart stops beating, CPR can be used to restart the heart and keep blood flowing to the body. Mechanical ventilation can be used to help a person breathe if their lungs are not functioning properly. Hemodialysis can be used to filter waste from the blood if a person's kidneys are not working properly.