Merell

Merell was a Human from the planet Hoff. Atlantis 1's first visit to Hoff, showed that the Hoffan people were trying to perfect a drug that would render the Wraith feeding process useless. Merell was contacted regarding testing of the drug due to the fact he was already terminally ill. After an ethical conversation with Beckett and medical officer,Perna, regarding whether he should give up his life; he eventually volunteered to be the first test subject that the drug was used upon, citing his reasoning to be bettering of the Hoffan people. With the drug under effect, Merell was transported to the location of the captured Wraith Commander, Steve. As Steve gave Sheppard information regarding wraith battlecruiser locations, he was rewarded with Merell's "tainted" life source. Merell survived the procedure as Steve was poisoned and killed.

The next day, Merell died, his cause of death according to Beckett was a complete respiratory breakdown. Although Perna assumed this was due to his prior illness, the deaths of 50% of all those inoculated thereafter confirmed Beckett's initial prognosis that it was due to the drug. Merell was thus officially the first to have died of the Hoffan Drug.