Do we need to change diver recovery methods?

[Vtach]

If you die at depth on scuba, it really doesn't matter (physiologically) what rate you bring the body up.  You need ventilation and circulation to exchange absorbed gasses and prevent PE/AGE.  A dead diver has neither.  You can just about guarantee that bringing them up at any rate will generally cause some form of emboli and consequent tissue damage.

The "mammalian dive reflex" really doesn't come into play until you see a fairly drastic reduction in CORE body temperatures.  When you have a diver in exposure protection, who stops breathing/circulating at depth they are generally still warm.  Unlike a swimmer with virtually no exposure protection, it will take a fairly significant amount of time (as far as cellular death is concerned) for the body to cool down enough to reach those "self protected" core temps.  During this time anoxia is wreaking havoc on vital brain and cardiac tissues.  In general, the "mammalian dive reflex" is an anomaly that may or may not influence the outcome of a cold water drowning.  There seems to be little consensus in the medical community on the exact nature of the mechanism and factors that influence it outside of temperature and age.

It is a noble thought Mike but the reality of breathing compressed gas at depth brings about a whole different set of rules that really limits our ability to resuscitate divers who, for whatever reason, were unable or unwilling to prevent their death.