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Cryonics
A simple but profound truth: cryogenically or otherwise preserving the deceased is the moral, civilized, aesthetic and rational thing to do, regardless of the final outcome. To bury or burn people (or pets) that could potentially be repaired and revived at some future date is just as barbaric as refusing to apply CPR to someone who has just suffered cardiac arrest.
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Cryonic suspension is an experimental procedure whereby patients who no longer
can be kept alive with today's medical abilities are preserved at low temperature
for treatment in the future. A "typical" cryonics procedure goes, or rather
should go, as follows: after de-animation (clinical death, usually
pronounced after cessation of heartbeat and breathing), the patient is released
into the custody of the (local) cryonics emergency
team and/or a specially trained & equipped (local)
mortician, and cooled either with ice-filled bags or in a
portable
ice bath (PIB) with a spray cooling device ("squid"), which further
accelerates the temperature descend, to approx. 5-10*C. During cooldown,
the patient's head always has top priority, for obvious reasons. If the patient
hasn't been dead for more than an hour or so, and if his body is still largely
intact, he is simultaneously re-oxigenated (optional) and treated with various
medications, including anticoagulants like heparin, which helps to
delay and reduce
ischemic
brain damage and the formation of blood clots. The better the condition of the circulatory system, the easier it will be to perfuse the patient with cryoprotectants later on -- more on that
below. The medications are circulated by external chest compressions, as
with CPR, by means of a compressed air-driven heart-lung resuscitator (known as
a thumper) or a similar device. Unless someone on the emergency team has the necessary skills, proper IV administration of the medications will require the cooperation of a physician,
nurse, or paramedic.
Vitrification Thanks to the pioneering cryoprotectant research at 21st Century Medicine, it is now possible to vitrify, rather than just "freeze", human brains. Whole bodies may follow within just a few years. Vitrification -- conversion to a glass-like solid state -- is a process that causes much less tissue damage than current suspension techniques, which means that cryo-patients will be revived sooner, and that there will be far less risk of damage to the patient's mental structure (i.e. less risk of memory loss and/or personality changes). Alcor is currently the only cryonics organization offering neurovitrification. Costs Contrary to popular belief, cryonics is not just for the rich -- in fact, most people signed up for suspension could best be described as "middle class". Though the procedure in itself is rather expensive (approx. US $30,000 up to somewhere in the $120,000 - 150,000 range, depending on your cryonics organization, geographical location, manner of death, and suspension protocol), it can be funded by means of life insurance. Contact one of the cryonics organizations and/or local groups for more information.
Needless to say, it is always better to have a cryo contract in place as
soon as possible. We live in a dangerous, primitive world where death can come for anyone
at any time and even if you have enough funding there are often serious delays
when last-minute cases are handled, and cryonics organizations may charge
you extra. If they accept the case at all, that is; due to the
considerable risk of legal and financial complications (like relatives fighting
the organization over the insurance money, or simply losing interest and
refusing to pay) any cryonics organization will think twice before accepting
a last-minute, non-member case. Their primary concern is, and should
be, the well-being of their regular members and the frozen patients, after
all. -Why is cryonics so expensive?
These and many other questions are answered in the
cryonics FAQ [Note: it's a bit dated, but still
fairly useful for getting a general impression of the cryonics movement.
A more current FAQ, courstesy of Cryonics Institute, can be
found
here].
By making cryonics arrangements you:
Cryonics according to Ralph C. Merkle, the short version.
For those interested in a cryo contract, here's a complete list of currently active cryonics organizations (for local, non-USA contacts, click here).
Mailing List
If you're interested in discussing cryonics from a European perspective,
or want to be kept up to date regarding changes to this page & new
cryonics-related developments in general, you can join the cryonics-euro
mailing list (see below). Low traffic, but occasionally quite informative!
Some Recommended Reading
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© Copyright 2003 transtopia |
When the desired temperature has been reached, the patient is removed from
the silicone bath or dry ice box, put in a special holding tank,
and gradually cooled with liquid nitrogen vapors to -196*C, the temperature
of liquid nitrogen (LN2). Prior to the final temperature descent, the patient has
been put in a sleeping bag and attached to a specialized tray -- this to
minimize temperature fluctuations and to make handling safer & easier
in case he needs to be moved to a different storage vessel. At such low temperatures,
all chemical and biological activity (and therefore decay) is slowed
down to a point where it effectively becomes negligible, at least
for the next 10,000 years or so. After approx. 5-7 days of vapor cooling,
the frozen body (or head) is finally placed in an insulated storage tank
(either a stainless-steel "dewar", which is essentially a giant Thermos bottle,
or a fiberglass "cryostat"), and is completely submerged, head-down,
in liquid nitrogen. The inverted position is a simple but effective
safety precaution; this way, if something goes wrong and all the LN2 is allowed
to evaporate, the head thaws last. Here the cryonaut will be stored until
he can be fully repaired, rejuvenated, enhanced, and successfully revived.
Tip#1: even if you don't want to sign up for suspension in the near future, it is wise to arrange a suitable life insurance policy anyway. The (insurance) rates are directly related
to your age, health & "social status", and you may not be able to afford
it by the time you decide to sign up. Procrastination killed the cat, so
to speak.
