The family of 13-year-old Jahi McMath may have succeeded in transferring the brain-dead teen from an Oakland hospital to undisclosed care facility, but medical experts say it's only a matter of time before not even machines can keep her blood flowing. 
 
 Bodies of the brain-dead have been maintained on respirators for months or in rare cases even years — and in a few other cases released to families. 
 
 But once cessation of all brain activity is confirmed, there is no recovery, said Rebecca S. Dresser, professor of law and ethics in medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, who served on a presidential bioethics council that in 2008 reaffirmed "whole-brain death" as legal death. 
 
 Brain cells die without blood flow and autopsies in such cases have shown that the brain liquefies. 
 
 
 
 After marathon negotiations with a federal magistrate, Jahi's family members received approval to remove her body, while attached to a ventilator, from Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland on Sunday. 
 
 The brain-dead girl was released first to the Alameda County coroner and then to the family, and is now the responsibility of her mother, who has moved her to an unnamed facility. 
 
 The courts have so far agreed that Jahi is dead. The coroner on Friday issued a death certificate listing Dec. 12 as the date of death. 
 
 But bioethics experts say news media coverage that often repeated family assertions that Jahi McMath was alive — even responding to touch — clouded an issue the public already has difficulty grasping. 
 
 The Oakland girl underwent surgery Dec. 9 to remove her tonsils, adenoids and uvula. She was declared brain-dead after she went into cardiac arrest and suffered extensive brain hemorrhaging. 
 
 At least three neurologists confirmed that Jahi was unable to breathe on her own, had no blood flow to her brain and had no sign of electrical activity. 
 
 What followed was a court's order — extended once — that the hospital keep the ventilator on, first while an independent neurologist confirmed Jahi was brain-dead, then as the family scrambled to find a facility that would accept a patient declared deceased. 
 
 All the while, the breathing machine kept Jahi's lungs and heart working. 
 
 Jahi's family — and their attorney, Christopher Dolan of San Francisco — have maintained that brain death is not death, that the girl might get better, and that the rights of Jahi's mother, Latasha Winkfield, to determine the medical course of action were violated. 
 
 But California law says the family had no right to make decisions about the ventilator, only a right to a "reasonably brief period of accommodation" after the declaration of brain death to "gather family or next of kin at the patient's bedside." 
 
 To experts, the case has raised no novel legal issues, but it has created a painful spectacle. 
 
 Arthur Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at New York University Langone Medical Center, said the Jahi case could compel other families to "ultimately say, 'I'd like to take this body home and wait for a miracle.' That would be a public policy of disrespect for dead bodies." 
 
 "The ability to get clear about brain death has been a real obstacle," he said. "This hasn't helped at all." 
 
 
 
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 Chris Dolan, the attorney for the family of 13-year-old Jahi McMath, answers questions at a press conference at Dolan's San Francisco offices, Jan. 5, 2014. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group) ( D. ROSS CAMERON ) 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO -- The mantel over a fireplace in Christopher Dolan's law office is lined with photos of his family, notably pictures of his two young children. 
 
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 And as far as he's concerned, those photos -- not money, fame or a lawyer's hubris -- explain why he took on an Oakland family's heart-wrenching public battle over 13-year-old Jahi McMath when she was declared brain dead more than a month ago. 
 
 And it hasn't made him popular. Dolan has received death threats, been called a liar, unethical and accused of exploiting a family's grief. But the tough-talking Connecticut native, who sprinkles his narrative with a healthy dose of profanity, makes no apologies for his very public role in helping Jahi's family get her out of Children's Hospital Oakland and preserve some form of medical treatment. 
 
 "If it was my daughter, I'd do everything I'm doing for this family," Dolan said Tuesday during a two-hour interview with this newspaper. "The one thing the family was going to know at the end of the day is that the family had somebody who fought for them." 
 
 In Dolan, Jahi's family found a 50-year-old trial lawyer who has sparred in court against a host of powerful adversaries, from Stanford University's hospital to companies such as Federal Express. The delivery giant found out just how tough Dolan can be when he persuaded a federal jury a decade ago to award $61 million to two Lebanese drivers harassed by a manager with racial slurs in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. 
 
 Dolan even took on the Ladies Professional Golf Association on behalf of Lana Lawless, a transgender golfer who won the right to play on the tour and forced the organization to change its rules to enable transgender golfers to participate. 
 
 Dolan was drawn into the maelstrom over Jahi's fate on Dec. 16, when he got a phone call at his San Rafael home from her uncle, Omari Sealey. He knew nothing of the controversy, having been immersed in a federal court trial, but Sealey pleaded for help, urging him to turn on the television to watch the latest coverage of the drama. Dolan flipped on the TV, and could see Sealey in the background of the newscast, holding his phone, as their conversation unfolded. 
 
 After discussions with his wife, Dolan decided to take on the family's cause, convinced they should have a choice in the decision over whether Jahi should be taken off a ventilator. Describing himself as a "cafeteria Catholic," Dolan admits he did a lot of soul-searching on his views about end-of-life treatment, but kept coming back to the conclusion that a family, rather than just doctors and hospital administrators, should have a voice when they still believe a child can be saved. 
 
 But critics have questioned Dolan's altruism. After Dolan and Sealey appeared on CNN's Piers Morgan show Monday night, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin decried the role of a lawyer in the case, saying he was "preying on the false hope of the family." Children's Hospital spokesman Sam Singer, Dolan's chief antagonist in the Jahi saga, calls the lawyer "heartless," adding: "I've never seen such reckless disregard for the truth." 
 
 Dolan is particularly dismissive of Singer and the hospital, claiming that they've libeled him. He points to a wall full of lawyer awards in the entryway of his Market Street office, some singling out his ethics, and merely jokes that Singer needs "to get some decent clothes." 
 
 "The whole thing about me giving them false hope is a construction of public relations because they needed a villain," Dolan said. "It's OK if I take the heat. You can still have sympathy for the family." 
 
 Describing himself as "about as pro-choice as you can get," Dolan is not an avenger for groups devoted to the end-of-life treatment issue. "I didn't know (expletive) about it when I took this on," he said. "I knew nothing about it." 
 
 And Dolan stresses that he's representing the family for free, and will not handle the inevitable medical negligence lawsuit sure to come against Children's Hospital, where Jahi developed complications and suffered cardiac arrest after a three-part surgery to remove tonsils and clear tissue from her nose and throat on Dec. 9. Multiple doctors have declared Jahi brain dead, but the family has rejected that diagnosis, hoping she can live. She has been moved to an undisclosed location, where Dolan concedes the medical outlook is grim. 
 
 Dolan insists it would be unethical for him to handle any negligence or wrongful death case, which could expose the hospital to millions of dollars in damages, although he will continue to press a separate federal constitutional case he hopes might define family rights in such situations in the future -- if Jahi's family wants to pursue it. Dolan matter-of-factly states he's already made a "boatload of money," so he can afford to subsidize such causes. 
 
 Dolan has no shortage of adjectives for himself, at once describing himself as a "scalpel" and "hard-ass" to a "highly educated juvenile delinquent (he graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law School)." 
 
 He shows a visitor texts he's received in recent days from Jahi's family, one from her mother saying she was "forever grateful" for his help. He insists he won't do another case like this one, but has no regrets about spending all those days trying to help the motionless Jahi and her family. 
 
 "I'll go down swinging," Dolan said, tearing up at one point when he recalled the day they got the right to move Jahi. "I don't care. I'll lose the money. Maybe that's why people are having such a hard time understanding what's my angle. This lady asked me to save her kid from being killed." 
 
 Howard Mintz covers legal affairs. Contact him at 408-286-0236 or follow him at Twitter.com/hmintz 

 Photo: Uncredited, Associated Press Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close 
 
 Image 1 of 8 This undated file photo provided by the McMath family and Omari Sealey shows Jahi McMath. This undated file photo provided by the McMath family and Omari Sealey shows Jahi McMath. Photo: Uncredited, Associated Press 
 
 Image 2 of 8 Attorney Christopher Dolan (left) and Omari Sealey smiled as reporters tried to find out where Jahi McMath had been moved Monday January 6, 2014 in San Francisco, Calif. Attorney Christopher Dolan and uncle Omari Sealey announced that Jahi McMath has been moved to another medical facility and is receiving antibiotics and nutrients. Attorney Christopher Dolan (left) and Omari Sealey smiled as reporters tried to find out where Jahi McMath had been moved Monday January 6, 2014 in San Francisco, Calif. Attorney Christopher Dolan and uncle ... more Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle 
 
 Image 3 of 8 Jahi's Uncle Omari Sealey, (left) listens as Sandra Chatman talks about her grandaughter Jahi McMath while being joined by the family attorney Christopher Dolan, as they speak to the news media about the court ordered extension in front of Children's Hospital in Oakland, Ca., on Monday Dec. 30, 2013. 13-year-old Jahi McMath was slated to be removed from a ventilator at 5pm this afternoon but a court order has extended the deadline for the removal of the ventilator until 5pm January 7, 2014. Jahi's Uncle Omari Sealey, (left) listens as Sandra Chatman talks about her grandaughter Jahi McMath while being joined by the family attorney Christopher Dolan, as they speak to the news media about the court ... more Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle 
 
 Image 4 of 8 Nailah Winkfield, the mother of brain-dead girl Jahi McMath, embraces her brother Omari Sealey, after they stated that the court order to remove Jahi from a ventilator has been extended to January 7th 2014. The statement was made by the family to the news media in front of Children's Hospital in Oakland, Ca. , on Monday Dec. 30, 2013. 13-year-old Jahi McMath is slated to be removed from a ventilator at 5pm this afternoon, after being declared brain-dead by the hospital. Nailah Winkfield, the mother of brain-dead girl Jahi McMath, embraces her brother Omari Sealey, after they stated that the court order to remove Jahi from a ventilator has been extended to January 7th 2014. The ... more Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle 
 
 Image 5 of 8 Christopher Dolan, attorney representing the family of 13-year-old Jahi McMath, speaks to member of the media after a court hearing on Monday, Dec. 23, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. McMath remains on life support at the Children's Hospital Oakland after doctors declared her brain dead following a routine tonsillectomy procedure. A judge on Monday appoints Dr. Paul Fisher, Chief of Pediatric Neurology at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, to determine whether Jahi is legally dead as the family members continue to fight to keep McMath on life support. Christopher Dolan, attorney representing the family of 13-year-old Jahi McMath, speaks to member of the media after a court hearing on Monday, Dec. 23, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. McMath remains on life support at ... more Photo: Stephen Lam, Special To The Chronicle 
 
 Image 6 of 8 Nailah Winkfield, mother of 13-year-old Jahi McMath, cries before a court hearing on Monday, Dec. 23, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. McMath remains on life support at the Children's Hospital Oakland after doctors declared her brain dead following a routine tonsillectomy procedure. A judge on Monday appoints Dr. Paul Fisher, Chief of Pediatric Neurology at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, to determine whether Jahi is legally dead as the family members continue to fight to keep McMath on life support. Nailah Winkfield, mother of 13-year-old Jahi McMath, cries before a court hearing on Monday, Dec. 23, 2013 in Oakland, Calif. McMath remains on life support at the Children's Hospital Oakland after doctors ... more Photo: Stephen Lam, Special To The Chronicle 
 
 Image 7 of 8 Family members of 13-year-old Oakland teen Jahi McMath are holding out hope for a miracle recovery after a routine procedure has left the girl brain dead. Family members of 13-year-old Oakland teen Jahi McMath are holding out hope for a miracle recovery after a routine procedure has left the girl brain dead. Photo: CBS San Francisco
– The California 13-year-old declared dead after tonsil surgery is getting better at the undisclosed facility where she was moved earlier this week, family lawyer Christopher Dolan claims. Jahi McMath has had feeding and tracheostomy tubes inserted and "doctors are optimistic that her condition has stabilized and that her health is improving from when she was taken from" the hospital, Dolan tweeted. He says she is now "doing very well" and is getting the treatment she should have had weeks ago, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Dolan's opinion aside, the Los Angeles Times points out that recovery is not possible, and that machines can only keep her blood flowing for a finite amount of time; in only rare cases have the bodies of the brain-dead been "maintained" longer than months. In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, the veteran trial lawyer defends his role in the case and says he has been receiving death threats. He describes himself as a pro-choice, "cafeteria Catholic" who had to do plenty of soul-searching before getting involved, but will "go down swinging" in his efforts to help the family. "If it was my daughter, I'd do everything I'm doing for this family," he says. "The one thing the family was going to know at the end of the day is that the family had somebody who fought for them." He stresses that he is helping the family for free and will not get involved in any negligence lawsuits.