Helps bring people back to life: scientists 'revive' pig organs an hour after animal's death

The discovery, which scientists call a breakthrough, could save many lives by giving doctors more time to perform organ transplants or bring drowned, suffocated or heart attacked people back to life. The edition told in more detail with the BBC.

Photo: IStock

The experiment was carried out by American researchers who were able to partially restore the functioning of the organs of pigs an hour after the animals' hearts stopped. This could revolutionize medicine, scientists say.

How was the study

The object of the experiment were about 100 pigs. The scientists put the animals into hibernation and then stopped their hearts. The experiment was tested for compliance with ethical standards in science - the test pigs did not experience pain and suffering before death.

After an hour had passed since the death of the animals, they were connected to a system called OrganEx, and for six hours a recovery cocktail of various chemicals was transfused into their blood. The dose of anesthetic for pigs is calculated so that it works throughout the experiment.

Six hours later, the scientists dissected the organs of the pigs: heart, liver and kidneys. The results of the autopsy showed that the organs restored some of their functions.

Electrical activity was restored in the heart, and some cells of the heart muscle tissue were able to contract. At the same time, the organs did not function in the same way as before death.

“What is dead is not as dead as we used to think. We have demonstrated that we can initiate cell repair at the molecular level. We can convince the cells not to die,” said one of the researchers, Dr. Zvonimir Wrselja.

What is the OrganEx system

The OrganEx system was already used in an experiment on the pig brain in 2019. It pumps synthetic blood into a dead body, which does not clot and can pass through collapsing blood vessels to deliver oxygen throughout the body, and a cocktail of 13 compounds that interrupt the chemical processes that lead to cell death.

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A device is attached to this kind of dropper that allows fluid to be pumped rhythmically throughout the body, simulating the contraction of a beating heart.

In a 2019 experiment, scientists found signs of recovery in some brain cells, but there were no brain waves or electrical activity indicating a return of consciousness.

In 2022, scientists have adapted OrganEx technology to "revitalize" the organs of the whole body of a pig.

Why the results of the experiment are called a breakthrough in medicine

The researchers are convinced that the fact that the pig's organs partially recovered an hour after the animal was killed is a breakthrough that could change medicine.

Yes, much more research will be required before the technology can be used in humans. But this method will increase the number of organs available for transplantation and give doctors more time to save lives.

When the heart stops beating, the body lacks the oxygen and nutrients it needs to live. Organs grow in size, blood vessels break down, and cells—the building blocks of the body's organs—begin to die.

Until now, cell death was thought to be irreversible, but Yale researchers have used OrganEx to reverse some of the damage in animal organ cells.

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“The experiment showed that cells are able to function a few hours after they should be dead. This means that theoretically we can restore some of the functions of cells in various vital organs after the death of a person,” says another researcher, Professor Nenad Sestan.

This technology could be used to give doctors more time to resuscitate people whose bodies lacked oxygen, such as those who choked, suffocated or had a heart attack.

“This will bring such people back to life many hours after death,” said Dr. Sam Parnia, director of critical care and critical care research at New York University, who called the study really important and unique.

In addition, this technology will allow doctors to store organs for transplant longer so that they can reach patients who need them if they are away from the donor.

And in the long term, scientists want to ensure that the deceased person, whose body will be "connected" to the OrganEx system, could become a donor some time after his death.

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