The Sarco pod (sometimes referred to as a "suicide pod") is a

euthanasia device A euthanasia device is a machine engineered to allow an individual to die quickly with minimal pain. The most common devices are those designed to help terminally ill people die by voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide without prolonged pain. ...

or machine consisting of a

3D-printed 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material i ...

detachable capsule mounted on a stand that contains a canister of liquid

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

to die by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

through

inert gas asphyxiation Inert gas asphyxiation is a form of asphyxiation which results from breathing a physiologically inert gas in the absence of oxygen, or a low amount of oxygen (hypoxia), rather than atmospheric air (which is composed largely of nitrogen and oxygen ...

. "Sarco" is short for "

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

". It is used in conjunction with an

inert gas An inert gas is a gas that does not readily undergo chemical reactions with other chemical substances and therefore does not readily form chemical compounds. Though inert gases have a variety of applications, they are generally used to prevent u ...

(nitrogen) which decreases oxygen levels rapidly which prevents panic, sense of

suffocation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...

and struggling before

unconsciousness Unconsciousness is a state in which a living individual exhibits a complete, or near-complete, inability to maintain an awareness of self and environment or to respond to any human or environmental stimulus. Unconsciousness may occur as the r ...

, known as the hypercapnic alarm response caused by the presence of high

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

concentrations in the blood. The Sarco was invented by

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

campaigner

Philip Nitschke Philip Haig Nitschke (; born 8 August 1947) is an Australian humanist, author, former physician, and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Austral ...

in 2017. Nitschke said in 2021 that he sought and received legal advice about the device's legality in Switzerland.

History

The Sarco is an expansion of the hypoxic death provided by a

suicide bag A suicide bag, also known as an exit bag or hood, is part of a euthanasia device consisting of a large plastic bag with a drawcord used to die by suicide through inert gas asphyxiation. It is usually used in conjunction with a flow of an inert ...

. Many people will not consider euthanasia by suicide bag for aesthetic reasons, or may feel claustrophobic inside a bag. Nitschke calls this the "plastic bag factor". The Sarco was developed to address these objections.

Mechanics

Access to the Sarco will be controlled by an online test to gauge mental fitness. If applicants pass, they receive an access code to a Sarco device which is valid for 24 hours. Users of the Sarco can choose either a dark or transparent view from the capsule. The transparent view would be chosen if they wish to transport the machine to a particular location to see a certain vista from the machine. The inventor feels that "where you die is certainly an important factor". The capsule of Sarco provides for a rapid decrease in

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

level while maintaining a low level of

. On activation, of liquid nitrogen causes the oxygen level to drop silently to less than 5% in less than one minute. According to Nitschke: "The occupant presses the button and the capsule is filled with nitrogen. They will feel a bit dizzy but will then rapidly lose consciousness and die."

Design and manufacture

The design of the device was a collaboration between Nitschke and

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

er Alexander Bannink. Sarco is 3D-printed in sections measuring . The design software allows for devices of different sizes to be made according to the client's dimensions. Nitschke has said that the design is intended to resemble that of a spaceship, in order to give users the feel that they are traveling to the "great beyond". Nitschke planned to release the

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

plans for the Sarco by 2019.

Reactions

Thaddeus Pope, a bioethicist at the

Mitchell Hamline School of Law Mitchell Hamline School of Law is a Private university, private law school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and offers full and part-time legal ...

, said the debate over Sarco may result in a new way of approaching end-of-life options by legislators, saying that "That might be bigger or more important than the actual Sarco itself," and that Nitschke was "illustrating the limitations of the medical model and forcing us to think." Critics have described the device as "just a glorified gas chamber", and others have raised concerns that it is glamorising suicide, and could lead to " suicide contagions" that inspire additional deaths. In 2024, right to die organisation "The Last Resort" announced the Sarco pod would be used in Switzerland for the first time. In response, the cantonal doctor of Valais issued a precautionary ban on its use. On 23 September 2024, police in the Swiss

canton of Schaffhausen The canton of Schaffhausen, also canton of Schaffhouse (; ; ; ), is the northernmost Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the canton is Schaffhausen. The canton's territory is divided into three non-co ...

arrested several people, including The Last Resort CEO Florian Willet, after a 64-year-old woman from the United States had used the machine. The public prosecutor's office for the canton announced the opening of criminal proceedings for the inducement, aiding and abetting of suicide. On the same day, Swiss Federal Council member Elizabeth Baume-Schneider stated that use of the Sarco Pod was incompatible with Swiss law. On 2 December 2024, Willet was released from police custody. On 5 May 2025, Willet died by suicide.

References

External links