Understand the procedure used to preserve Pelé’s body

Died last Wednesday (29) from multiple organ failure due to colon cancer, Pelé only had his wake this Monday (2). To conserve the King’s body for all these days and perform a ceremony with an open coffin, the method used was thanatopraxy.

“It is a technique that consists of repairing and preserving the human body after death”, summarizes Nelson Pereira Neto, strategic director of the funeral service of Grupo Bom Pastor. The service partnered with the Ecumenical Necropolis Memorial, where the star’s body will be buried.

The procedure is not new. Queen Elizabeth II, who died in October, had the same technique applied to her body, as did Pope Benedict 16, who died on the last day of 2022.

Neto says that thanatopraxy was created between 1861 and 1865, during the Civil War that took place in the USA. The objective was to transport the bodies of soldiers killed during the conflict that took place between the North and the South of the country. Over time, the procedure underwent improvements and spread around the world – in Brazil, it dates back to 1993.

The method is non-invasive. It consists of injecting a formaldehyde-based liquid through a vein. “This liquid is a preservative for organic matter”, explains Neto.

Equipment, which can be compared to a hemodialysis machine, is used to circulate the liquid throughout the body. After that, another device is adopted to aspirate a portion of the liquid and also a portion of the blood – the fractions that remain remain in the body.

With this technique, it is possible to delay the decomposition of the person. The goal is for the individual to have an expression close to sleep.

The purpose of the procedure is also what differs it from embalming. Neto explains that both have similar concepts, but thanatopraxy does not require the removal of all the dead person’s organs, something that occurs in embalming.

“The process itself is to delay the body’s decomposition time and not transform it into mummies”, he says.

To arrive at a result similar to how it was with the living person, it is necessary to consider factors before the intervention. Weight, cause of death, and length of time for which the body is to remain in a common shape are essential to arrive at a positive result.

For example, individuals who die from violent causes may have organs removed for forensic examination. In situations like this, the intervention takes longer, even if it is still fully applicable. “All corpses can undergo thanatopraxy”, explains Neto, pointing out that rare cases may present chemical reactions to the substances used in the procedure.

Other cases are when it is necessary to transport the body to other countries. Under these circumstances, a larger amount of the preservative liquid is injected, as the body needs to maintain the natural features for a longer time.

“It was a very memorable moment”

Neto was one of the professionals who performed thanatopraxy on Pelé himself. He says that, when the death information was confirmed, a team went to Albert Einstein Hospital, where the King died. They performed the procedure on the star’s body and, after that, he was covered with sheets, accommodated in a bed and placed in an air-conditioned room until he was transported this Monday (2).

In addition, the ace also underwent necromakeup, a corpse makeup technique to bring an appearance even closer to when he was alive. “It is the last time that friends and relatives will see the loved one, so it is very important that, in the last social event in life, a cycle is closed with a good memory”, says Neto.

For him, collaborating with Pelé’s last appearance was very rewarding, described as “a very remarkable moment” and “a mission to take care of a King”. “That brought me an honor. Being able to serve the King”, he completes.