A baby boy, born on Oct. 9, was saved from cremation on Wednesday morning when he started crying at a funeral parlor in Hefei, the provincial capital of east China's Anhui Province.
Doctors, at a loss as to how such a near-tragedy could have occured, have pointed the finger at phenomenon know as "apparent death".
Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital had issued a death certificate for the boy, and he would have been cremated under normal procedures, according to the Hefei Municipal Funeral Parlor.
Apparent death, also known as playing dead, is the cessation of life signs as indicated by the absence of all vital functions.
"This rarely happens. There was no breath, or pulse and the body was cold," according to a member of the investigation team. "It seemed that the baby was dead, but his life was not over. The extremely feeble heartbeat and breath would only have been detected by medical equipment."
"If the doctor on duty had had the opportunity to observe the case for longer or nursing staff had been more aware, the incident would not have taken place," said a hospital official.
The hospital admitted the baby on Oct. 28, suffering from pneumonia, congenital choanal atresia and cerebral injuries.
The baby had suffered frequent sudden stoppages of breath and heartbeat, according to the hospital. Doctors recommended he be transfered to more adequate facilities in Beijing or Shanghai, but his parents decided his condition was untreatable after consulting Shanghai doctors.
When his parents agreed on Nov. 12 to abandon medical treatment, they asked the hospital to dispose of the body, according to pediatric staff at the hospital. At that time, the baby still showed signs of life, the hospital continued to give him transfusions.
On Monday, the doctor on duty found no breathing or heartbeat and declared him dead, issuing the death certificate the same day. A nursing worker sent the baby to the funeral parlor on Wednesday where he awoke.
The baby is still receiving treatment at the hospital's intensive care unit. The hospital plan to invite experts from Beijing for consultation.
The doctor who declared the baby dead has had his license revoked and faces further punishment, health authorities in east China’s Anhui Province said yesterday.
