The brain stem which is composed of the Pons, The Medulla, and the Midbrain serve a very vital function... They control the functions that keep you alive; Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Breathing input and output, Blood pressure, as well a vasomotor functions. So taking this into account, an injury to the brain stem is extremely bad, as that can and will most definitely be very lethal.
They are all made of tissue and cells.