Scientists have “revived” the organs of a pig an hour after it died. The discovery, which scientists are calling groundbreaking, may save many human lives by giving doctors more time to perform organ transplants or resuscitate people who have drowned, suffocated or suffered heart attacks.
The experiment was conducted by American researchers who were able to partially restore the function of pig organs within an hour of the animals’ hearts stopping. Scientists believe this could change the face of medicine. The experiment, the results of which were published in the journal Nature, involved about 100 pigs.
Scientists induced a deep sleep in the animals and then stopped their hearts. The experiment met the ethical standards of science – the test pigs did not experience any pain or suffering before death. One hour after death, the animals were hooked up to a system called OrganEx, and for six hours, a restorative cocktail of various chemicals was transfused into their blood. The anesthetic dose for the pigs was calculated to ensure its effect throughout the experiment.
Scientists are excited about the results of the study because it opens up many possibilities. Six hours later, scientists dissected pig organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys. The autopsy results showed that the organs had regained some of their functions. Electrical activity was restored in the heart, and some cells of the heart muscle tissue were able to contract. However, the organs did not function as they did before death.
“What is dead is not as dead as we thought it was. We have shown that we can induce cell regeneration at the molecular level. We can convince cells not to die,” said one of the researchers, Dr. Zvonimir Vrselya.
The OrganEx system has already been used in a pig brain experiment in 2019. The system injects a dead body with synthetic blood that does not clot and can travel through deteriorating blood vessels to deliver oxygen throughout the body, along with a cocktail of 13 compounds that interrupt chemical processes that lead to cell death. This type of dropper also has a device that causes a rhythmic pumping of fluid throughout the body, simulating the contractions of a beating heart.
OrganEx essentially “fakes” the body by simulating real blood and heartbeat. During the 2019 experiment, scientists detected signs of brain cell recovery, but there were no brain waves or electrical activity to indicate a return of consciousness. In 2022, scientists have adapted the OrganEx technology to “reanimate” the organs of an entire pig’s body. Researchers are convinced that the fact that pig organs partially recover an hour after death is a breakthrough that could change medicine. Yes, much more research is needed before the technology can be used on humans. But ultimately, this method has the potential to increase the number of organs available for transplant and give doctors more time to save lives.
When the heart stops beating, the body is deprived of the oxygen and nutrients it needs to survive. Organs enlarge, blood vessels constrict, and cells, which are the building blocks of the body’s organs, begin to die. Until now, cell death was thought to be irreversible, but researchers at Yale University have used OrganEx to reverse some of the damage to cells from animal organs that had been dead for an hour.
“The experiment showed that cells can function several hours after they are supposed to be dead. This means that we can theoretically restore certain cell functions in various vital organs even after a person’s death,” says another researcher, Professor Nenad Sestan.
For example, this technology can be used to give doctors more time to resuscitate people whose bodies have been deprived of oxygen, such as those who have choked, suffocated or had a heart attack. “This will make it possible to bring such people back to life many hours after death,” says Dr. Sam Parnia, director of research in intensive care and resuscitation at New York University, who calls the study truly important and unique.
In addition, this technology will allow physicians to preserve organs for transplantation for longer periods of time, so that they can reach patients in need when they are far from the donor. In the future, scientists hope to make it possible for a deceased person whose body is “connected” to the OrganEx system to serve as a donor some time after death.