Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands
Pim van Lommel, Ruud van Wees, et al. · 2001 · The Lancet, 358(9298), 2039–2045
Summary
Multi-centre prospective study of 344 cardiac-arrest survivors documenting the incidence, timing, and reported content of NDEs after resuscitation.
Why it matters here
First major prospective NDE study in a peer-reviewed general medical journal, central because it moved the debate beyond retrospective anecdote.
Linked claims
A panoramic, often empathic re-experiencing of one's life — common in NDE samples, with strong moral aftereffects.
A handful of veridical NDE cases are striking. The leap from 'unexplained by current models' to 'proof of afterlife' is large.
A consistent core experience — peace, light, life review, OBE — reported across cultures and prospective hospital studies.
Related evidence hubs
Evidence around dying, near-death experience, and what (if anything) continues.
The nature of subjective experience.
Whether anything of mind continues.
Structured experiences during cardiac arrest and crisis.