A New Scientific Trial Aims To Revive Clinically Dead People

As much as we want to hold onto loved ones forever, it’s generally understood that when someone dies, they’re gone from this earth permanently. However, maybe that’s not the case. A Philadelphia-based firm called Bioquark is running a trial in which they hope to use stem cells to do the impossible: to bring the dead back to life. As Scientific American reports, it’s an interesting concept but one that not everyone is on board with.

1. Stem cells are useful for so many conditions. Used to treat everything from ALS to macular degeneration and many other potentially life-altering conditions, stem cells certainly have their place in the scientific and medical communities. In fact, researchers are learning more about their capabilities on a daily basis. However, using them to revive the dead is a step too far for some.
2. How is Bioquark planning to revive the dead? In essence, the plan is to inject stem cells into the spinal cords of individuals what have been declared clinically brain-dead. What that means is that the person won’t be physically dead – their hearts are still beating, perhaps they’re intubated and breathing artificially, but for all intents and purposes, there is no brain wave activity.
3. The stem cells will need a bit of help. In addition to the stem cell injections, Bioquark will also use a protein blend in the shots and will give study participants laser therapy and electrical nerve stimulation directed at the brain. They hope that this process will grow new neurons and encourage them to begin connecting, thereby reviving the brain and the person it resides inside.
4. As you can probably imagine, it’s a complicated process. Bringing someone back from the dead isn’t easy, and the researchers at Bioquark are well aware of this. CEO Ira Pastor said: “It’s our contention that there’s no single magic bullet for this, so to start with a single magic bullet makes no sense. Hence why we have to take a different approach.”
5. The trial has been around for a while now. It first launched in India in 2016 but was shut down a few months later as India’s Drug Controller General hadn’t approved it. No patients were enrolled at that time. However, Pastor says the new trial will take place in Latin America and he hopes 20 patients will be enrolled.
6. Not all scientists are convinced about the trial. Not only is it legally dubious – after all, a clinically dead person can’t really legally consent to be a participant, right? – but there’s also a question of what the final result would be. Even if the brain is able to be revived, what would that mean for the person?
7. Pastor feels hopeful about the possibilities. “Of course, many folks are asking the ‘what comes next?’ question,” he said. “While full recovery in such patients is indeed a long term vision of ours, and a possibility that we foresee with continued work along this path, it is not the core focus or primary endpoint of this first protocol.”