Sarco (euthanasia capsule)

At the end of 2021, Sarco is a 3D-printed capsule activated from the inside by a person intending to die. The capsule can be towed anywhere for this euthanasia procedure. A person climbs into a capsule and lies down, he will be asked a number of questions, and when he answers, he can press the button inside the capsule, activating the mechanism. The capsule is on equipment that fills the interior with nitrogen, rapidly reducing oxygen levels to 1% from 21% in about 30 seconds. A person will feel a little disoriented and may experience mild euphoria before fainting. Death occurs as a result of hypoxia and hypocapnia, oxygen and carbon dioxide starvation. At the same time, clients have neither panic nor feelings of suffocation during this operation.

2024: First Intended Use

In late September 2024, Swiss police launched a criminal investigation into the alleged death of a 64-year-old American woman inside a so-called "capsule suicides." The Sarco Pod, designed by Philippe Nitschke, facilitates euthanasia by releasing nitrogen gas, leading to unconsciousness and death within minutes.

The incident took place in the small town of Merishausen, near the border with where Germany the Sarco Pod was reportedly first used for its intended purpose in a public place. Nitschke, known for a long-running battle for patients' right to euthanasia, claimed the woman received an "idyllic, peaceful death in the Swiss woods."

𝓲

Interestingengineering

A spokesman for the Schaffhausen prosecutor's office confirmed that an investigation had been opened on suspicion of inciting and aiding suicide. Several people have been arrested in connection with the incident, although their identities and involvement remain unclear. Authorities, accompanied by forensic experts, took the Sarco capsule for examination and the woman's body was sent for an autopsy.

The case has attracted international attention because of the involvement of Exit International, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the legalization of assisted suicide worldwide. Florian Willet, a German scientist and leading member of Exit International, was reportedly present at the death of the American woman. It is unclear if Willett was among those arrested, but he is known to have described the woman's death as "peaceful, quick and dignified." In an interview with the Swiss tabloid Blick, he also stated that the deceased suffered from serious health problems associated with an autoimmune disease. Before entering the Sarco Pod, the woman made an official statement in the presence of lawyer Fiona Stewart, one of the directors of Last Resort and wife Nitschke.^[1]

2021: Permission to use Switzerland

In early December 2021 Switzerland , the was allowed to use capsules euthanasias for 3D printer printed on under the name Sarco. There health care were no legal problems with the documents when considered by the ministry of the country.

In Switzerland, about 1.3 thousand people died in 2020 as a result of assisted suicide. The method is the same and consists in ingesting liquid sodium pentobarbital. After taking pentobarbital sodium, a person falls asleep for two to five minutes, then plunges into a deep coma, after which death occurs. This substance is used by drug addicts for recreational purposes, as well as people when trying suicide. With an overdose, respiratory arrest occurs and almost instant death of a person. Sarco offers a different approach for calm death without the use of controlled substances.

In Switzerland, began to use 3D-printed capsules for euthanasia

Exit International sought specialist advice on the legality of using the capsule in Switzerland to assist in dying. And for December 2021, that review was completed and the companies received approval. As of December 7, 2021, there are two Sarco capsules, and the third is printed in the Netherlands and should be ready for operation in Switzerland in 2022.^[2]

Notes