'Near death experiences' probed

Patients recalled 'near death' experiences

A doctor in Southampton has been given ethical approval for a large scale trial to investigate what happens when patients have a "near death experience".

A pilot project at the city's general hospital suggested that a small proportion of patients who had a cardiac arrest and survived, reported some kind of unusual experience while they were clinically brain dead.

These ranged from walking down a tunnel towards a bright light to seeing spinning gargoyles.

In addition, a soon-to-be-published opinion poll of 1,000 people, released to BBC Radio 4's PM Programme, found that one in 10 people said they'd had an "out of body experience".

Patrick Tierney's is one case to be examined by the project.

It was beautiful, one of the most wonderful things I've ever seen

Patrick Tierney

His heart stopped ten years ago. He can't remember how long the cardiac arrest lasted. But what happened while he was unconcious he remembers vividly.

He told the BBC: "I felt what was like a pinch in the chest and the next minute I was in a tunnel similar to a medieval house it had wooden panels, very very dark.

We know very little about the dying process scientifically and therefore, how can we make decisions about euthanasia scientifically when we don't know about the science behind it?

Dr Sam Parnia, Southampton General Hospital

"I floated or walked down the tunnel moved in to another tunnel - it wasn't very long - and I stood there and I saw a huge mass of colour.

"Iit could of been a garden, it could have just been colour, but it was beautiful, one of the most wonderful things I've ever seen."

Like many people who believe they've had what's known as a 'near death experience' Patrick has hardly told anyone over the years for fear of the reaction he might get.

Clinically dead

"They'd laugh at you they'd think you were making it up. I think I was dying and for some reason my time hadn't come my name had been wiped out of the books and I was sent back."

In a pilot project, Dr Sam Parnia, a registrar at Southampton General Hospital, studied sixty three patients who were resuscitated after cardiac arrests in the casualty department.

All were clinically dead as staff tried to get their heart started again.

They weren't breathing, had no heartbeat and there appeared to be no brain activity.

No beliefs

Yet four of Dr Parnia's patients reported vivid abnormal experiences, journeys down tunnels, or encounters with dead relatives.

None of those involved was particularly religious or had a history of psychiatric problems.

There appeared to be no chance that the drugs administered during resuscitation could have caused the unusual events.

I don't think this research is going to be any proof of life after death

Dennis Cobell, atheist

Dr Parnia said: "There are some of those people who are able to recall specific details of the resuscitation attempts, so in other words a form of consciousness has had to have been present for them to come back and tell us what was happening to them.

"This may therefore imply that the mind is a separate entity to the brain."

Dr Parnia is now looking for funding for a much wider study involving 25 hospitals.

He said: "We know very little about the dying process scientifically and therefore, how can we make decisions about euthanasia scientifically when we don't know about the science behind it?"

Dennis Cobell, a confirmed atheist, believes the work done in Southampton is interesting, but unlikely to threaten his beliefs.

He said: "I suppose a lot of us would like to think that life might continue and if you have lost a loved one perhaps you would like the idea that you were going to meet up with that person again.

"But I don't think this research is going to be any proof of life after death."