IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

ON ASSIGNMENT: Life or Death Decisions

The question: are we pulling the plug too soon on those with traumatic brain injuries?
Keith Morrison, right, with neuropsychologist Dr. Joe Giacino.
Keith Morrison, right, with neuropsychologist Dr. Joe Giacino.NBC News

Keith Morrison brings you the story surrounding one of the most wrenching ordeals a family can go through: Deciding whether to take a loved one suffering from a traumatic brain injury off life support. There is new information that challenges conventional thinking about when that life or death decision should be made. In certain types of cases, the brain may be far more resilient than we know.

Online Video Exclusives from 'Life or Death Decisions'
Keith Morrison, right, with neuropsychologist Dr. Joe Giacino.
Keith Morrison, right, with neuropsychologist Dr. Joe Giacino.NBC News
Dr. Robert Truog, the Director of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School, sits down with Keith Morrison to discuss the issues surounding treatment decisions for patients with traumatic brain injuries.
Dr. Robert Truog, the Director of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School, sits down with Keith Morrison to discuss the issues surounding treatment decisions for patients with traumatic brain injuries.Dateline NBC
Keith Morrison talks with neuropsychologist Joe Giacino at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. The question: are we pulling the plug too soon on those with traumatic brain injuries.
Keith Morrison talks with neuropsychologist Joe Giacino at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. The question: are we pulling the plug too soon on those with traumatic brain injuries.Dateline NBC