Insight: August 6

Insight this week looks at the contentious issue of doctors bringing patients ‘back from the dead’ including interviews with subjects who had been ‘dead’ for up to 40 minutes.

Medical science is pushing the boundaries of death, with doctors now to able to resuscitate some patients even an hour after they have ‘died’.

Miraculously, many are recovering without brain damage.

Colin was ‘dead’ for at least 40 minutes following a massive heart attack before doctors finally brought him back to life. Cassandra was found floating in the water at a Sydney beach and didn’t breathe for at least 15 minutes before rescuers revived her. Both Colin and Cassandra are fine today.

It doesn’t always have such a happy ending, though. People revived after a long time without breathing can end up with significant brain injuries and a very different quality of life.

Speaking to people who have ‘come back from the dead’ as well as doctors with conflicting views, Insight examines the latest in medical science, finding out who has the best chance of being revived and whether we should be reviving people just because we can.

Guests include:

Colin Fiedler
Colin Fiedler suffered a cardiac arrest and was ‘dead’ for at least 40 minutes with no pulse. He became the first person in Australia to be brought back to life by the new resuscitation practice being trialled at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne. Colin didn’t suffer any brain damage.

Cassandra Scott
Cassandra Scott had an epileptic seizure while swimming at Coogee beach last December. When bystanders eventually dragged her from the water she had no pulse, had turned blue and was ‘dead’. A lifeguard gave her CPR and an emergency doctor, who happened to be on the beach at the time, gave her a large dose of oxygen. It worked. Cassandra was ‘brought back to life’. She says she “chose” to live and had some self-awareness during the ordeal.

Wendy Veitch
Wendy Veitch’s brother Trevor Dodgson had a heart attack at the age of 51 while at an AFL match. He was resuscitated despite not breathing for 30 minutes. However, he sustained significant brain damage and is now in a nursing home. Wendy spends much of her life looking after Trevor and wonders why he was resuscitated after such a long time. She has told her husband that she does not want to be resuscitated in similar circumstances.

Sam Parnia
Dr Sam Parnia is a British doctor and a critical care physician in New York who specialises in bringing his patients ‘back from the dead’. He says resuscitation techniques are outdated and are wasting lives that could be saved. Sam is also interested in near death experiences. He is heading up a study called AWARE which examines the relationship between mind and brain during death.

Stephen Bernard
Professor Stephen Bernard is leading a new resuscitation practice being trialled at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne. Stephen has looked closely at resuscitation and brain cooling and has spent time in Japan studying techniques there. He is a senior intensive care physician at The Alfred.

Tuesday at 8.30pm on SBS ONE.