Final command controversial suicide pod gave as first person to use it dies

The first person to die using a controversial new suicide pod was given one final command by the machine.

An American woman this week became the first person to die using the Sarco pod, a new method of assisted suicide.

The Sarco pods, developed by Swiss company The Last Resort and designed by Dr. Philip Nitschke - often referred to as “Dr. Death” - are said to provide a painless method of death.

The Sarco pod has been used for the first time. Credit: thelastresort.ch

The pod is designed to allow users to end their lives autonomously by filling the pod with nitrogen, causing death by oxygen deprivation, per BBC News.

It can be operated solely by the individual inside, using the press of a button, without the need for drugs or the presence of medical professionals.

Several people were arrested this week after it was used for the first time on Monday in the Schaffhausen region of Switzerland, where the device and the patient's body were recovered in a forest hut in the Merishausen area, near the German border, per the Guardian.

Authorities said they detained several individuals on suspicion of incitement and aiding and abetting suicide after the Sarco-made pod was reportedly used.

Police were alerted to the suicide by a local law firm but have not disclosed the number of arrests or the identities of those detained, nor that of the deceased, who is believed to be a 64-year-old woman.

Now, more details have been revealed about the final moments the patient would have spent in the machine, including the chilling question the pod asked them.

According to the AFP, the machine shows a screen, reading: "If you want to die, press this button."

The capsule will then fill with nitrogen gas, allowing the patient to quickly slip into unconsciousness before eventually dying due to oxygen deprivation.

Speaking about the first use of the machine, Dr. Philip Nitschke said that she almost immediately pressed the button to end her life.

The Sarco pod was created by Dr. Philip Nitschke. Credit: David Mariuz/Getty Images

He told de Volkskrant: "When she entered the Sarco, she almost immediately pressed the button.

"She didn't say anything. She really wanted to die. My estimate is that she lost consciousness within two minutes and that she died after five minutes.

"We saw jerky, small twitches of the muscles in her arms, but she was probably already unconscious by then. It looked exactly how we expected it to look."

Featured image credit: thelastresort.ch