Can a Sith/Jedi use the force to physically keep someone alive?

Question

It could be argued that this is a similar question, Did Darth Sidious and Vader ever discover how to cheat death?, but this seems to be more in line with spirit and conscious transference etc.

What I am curious to know is, can or has a Sith/Jedi used the force to keep someone alive physically?

We see plenty of examples of Sith phyiscally taking lives with the use of the force and I was hesitant to include them in this question as they don't seem like ideal candidates to help someone. But there is the issue with Anakin on Mustafar after he suffers those terrible injuries and Darth Sidious coming to his rescue. I am not sure if Darth Sidious actually kept him alive until the medical pod arrived. Or if he just was there to show his presence to Anakin.

eg: Someone suffers an injury that stopped the person/life forms heart and a Sith/Jedi used the force to physically keep the heart beating while waiting for medical assistance to arrive. Once arrived, then being put on some sort of life support. ie, if the Jedi or Sith was not there they would have normally died.;

So was there any canon examples of the Sith/Jedi physically keeping someone alive by using the force?

Answer 1

Indeed

Darth Maul used the Force to keep himself alive after being bisected by Obi-Wan on Naboo, as described in a canonical source (and elsewhere):

Q: How does Maul survive being cut in half?

A: The power of anger! Maul draws on his master’s dark side lessons to harness his rage and stay alive after Obi-Wan maims him in a duel on Naboo. Rumor has it that his top half fell down a reactor shaft into a trash container, which was then shipped to Lotho Minor.

_{Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know}

This is how he showed up on the Clone Wars series, of course.

This power is described as coming from “anger” and “rage,” and as originating in Palpatine’s “dark side lessons,” so it seems that it is unlikely to be something a Jedi could employ. But for a Sith with the right talents, it does seem to be within reach.

Further, in The Rise of Skywalker, Rey heals some giant snake monster of a pretty serious-looking injury, as well as healing Kylo Ren from a definitely fatal lightsaber stab wound, indicating that the Force can be used to heal others as well. It is still unclear whether this is a power is a general Force power, or something that comes from the Dark Side: since Rey also used Force lightning in the film, and was tempted by the dark side, it's not out of the question, and perhaps even plausible, that this ability is along the lines of Plagueis's ability to "keep the ones he cared about from dying."

Answer 2

Did You ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise? I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you- It's a sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a dark lord of the sith so wise and powerful that he could influence the midichlorians to create life. He could even save the ones he loved from dying... Eventually he grew so powerful that the only thing he feared was losing his power, which eventually of course he did. Unfortunately he taught his apprentice everything he knew- and then is apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic- He could save others from death, but not himself.

To make this comment a bit more serious, Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious did do extensive testing on keeping people alive with the Force, and as mentioned below did test their abilities on some subjects trying to test deaths limits. Also as seen in the Vader Comics, Palpatine supposedly manipulates the Force to create Anakin Skywalker.

Answer 3

In Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, by West End Games, there was a Force Power called Accelerate Another’s Healing. This allowed a Force-user to heal another character. In game terms, the target was allowed to make extra healing rolls. The healer had to be able to touch the character whenever he attempted a healing roll, too.

There was also another Force Power, Place Another in Hibernation Trance. According to the rules, this Power allowed a Force-user to put another character into a hibernation trance. The affected character had to be in physical contact with the Power's user.

IMHO, one or two of these Force Powers were used both by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Luke, and Darth Sidious on Darth Vader. They're both witnessed having very much physical contacts on their targets.

But this is all only Legends, of course...

Answer 4

Baby Yoda does this in The Mandalorian S1E7. There is a deep gash in someone's arm and, using The Force, Baby Yoda heals it completely (as in the flesh is fully restored). It might not sound like it fits (it wasn't life-threatening), but it tied into Rise of Skywalker when

Rey heals what appears to be a fatal wound to Kylo Ren. He later returns the favor when Rey appears to be dead after stopping the the risen Emperor Palpatine.

Answer 5

Darth Sidious uses the Force to save Vader on Mustafar

From the Return of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, Chapter 21:

The Sith Lord lowered the limbless man tenderly to the cool ground above, and laid his hand across the cracked and blackend mess that once had been his brow, and set his will upon him.
Live, Lord Vader. Live, my apprentice.
Live.

Admittedly, the text does not specifically say that Darth Sidious is using the Force here. And it does not say that his use of the Force is what is keeping Vader alive. And indeed, Sidious says earlier that

That power [to stop death] only my Master truly achieved, but together we will find it.

But I think that the implication is clear that even if Sidious cannot stop death, he can at least slow it for a while, giving Vader a chance to reach a medical pod.

Answer 6

The Sith can. In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, one of the main Sith you face is Darth Sion, who's literally keeping himself alive through sheer anger. His body is a broken wreck, where every moment of his existence is pain.