US scientists have used a new procedure to restore many biological functions in pigs that had been dead for more than an hour, raising profound questions about the boundary between life and death. The project at Yale University extends a groundbreaking experiment that restored some brain functions to decapitated pigs three years ago. In the latest development, the team has restored blood circulation and cellular activity to the bodies of whole animals that were anaesthetised and then killed through an induced heart attack.
The researchers, who used about 100 pigs in the latest project, said the technique could eventually extend the health of human organs during surgery and expand availability of donor organs.
The procedure, called OrganEx, involved pumping a restorative fluid containing a blend of 13 compounds that promote cellular health and suppress inflammation, through the dead pigs. Biological activity resumed in many organs including the liver, kidneys, brain and heart, whose cells retained the ability to contract.