Is brain death the same as being in a coma? I have heard that people can recover from a coma. Can people recover from brain death?
A coma and brain death are completely different. A person in a coma still has brain activity and is alive. The person may recover from a coma and possibly regain normal brain function. People who are brain dead have no brain activity. They are dead. Their brain can never recover, but the rest of their body may be kept functioning for a short time by a mechanical support system.