Cryonics Magazine 2010-3

ISSN 1054-4305

$9.95

Long-TermFinancialStability inCryonicspage 4

Member Profile:Dr. Michael Perrypage 13

Alcor Human

CryopreservationProtocol

page 5

3rd quarter 2010 • Volume 31:3

� Keep Alcor up-to-date about personal and medical changes.

� Update your Alcor paperwork to reflect your current wishes.

� Execute a cryonics-friendly Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.

� Wear your bracelet and talk to your friends and family about your desire to becryopreserved.

� Ask your relatives to sign Affidavits stating that they will not interfere withyour cryopreservation.

� Attend local cryonics meetings or start a local group yourself.

� Contribute to Alcor’s operations and research.

Contact Alcor (1-877-462-5267)and let us know how we can assist you.

Improve Your Odds of a Good CryopreservationYou have your cryonics funding and contracts in place but have you considered othersteps you can take to prevent problems down the road?

Connect with Alcor members and supporters on our official Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/alcor.life.extension.foundation

Become a fan and encourage interested friends, family members, and colleagues to support us too.

Alcor Life ExtensionFoundation is on

1www.alcor.org Cryonics/Third Quarter 2010

17 Book Review:Religion and theImplications ofRadical Life ExtensionRepresentatives ofdifferent religions andChristian denomina-tions present theirviews on the objectives andimplications of radicallife extension.

19 Membership ReportThe state of Alcor membership at the end of June 2010.

20 Tech NewsTech News editorMike Perry reports oncost reductions ongenome sequencing,the genetic secrets oflongevity, reversingage-related cognitivedecline and the use ofnanoparticles to shrinktumors.

Contents

4 Long-Term Financial Stability in CryonicsNanotechnology researcher Robert Freitas recently publishedan influential document called "Scenario Analysis using aSimple Econometric Model of Alcor Finances" on the Alcorwebsite. A summary of his findings and recommendations ispublished in this issue of the magazine. Essential reading forpotential Alcor members and all those who are interested inthe costs of cryonics and Alcor’s future.

13 Member Profile: Dr. Michael Perry Chana de WolfAlcor staff member, cryonics historian and prolific writer MikePerry is featured in this fascinating member profile, includingexcerpts of some of his upcoming publications.

ISSN 1054-4305

$9.95

Long-Term

Financial

Stability in

Cryonics

page 4

Member Profile:

Dr. Michael Perry

page 13

Alcor

Human

Cryopreservation

Protocol page 5

3rd quarter 2010 • Volume 31:3

The effort to research andreconstruct Alcor’s cryopreservation procedureshas culminated in a comprehensive protocol thatoutlines the cryopreservationprocess. In this document all parts of Alcor’s proce-dures are covered, including cryoprotective perfusion,cooling and long term care.

CCOOVVEERR SSTTOORRYY:: PPAAGGEE 55

3RD QUARTER 2010 • VOLUME 31:3

Editorial BoardSaul Kent

Ralph Merkle, Ph.D.Brian Wowk, Ph.D.

EditorAschwin de Wolf

Art DirectorJill Grasse

Contributing WritersRobert A. Freitas, Jr.

Mike Perry, Ph.D.Aschwin de WolfChana de Wolf

________________________________

Copyright 2010 by Alcor Life Extension Foundation

All rights reserved.Reproduction, in whole or part, without

permission is prohibited.

Cryonics Magazine is published quarterly.

To subscribe: call 480.905.1906 x101________________________________

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ISSN: 1054-4305

Visit us on the web at www.alcor.org

Alcor News Bloghttp://www.alcor.org/blog/

2 Cryonics/Third Quarter 2010 www.alcor.org

FROM THE EDITOR

One of the biggest challenges in cryonics is to preserve institutional knowledge.Unlike mainstream medicine, there are no cryonics textbooks or professional-produced general guidelines to apply to this small emerging field. It is true that

many of the procedures and practices in cryonics overlap with mainstream emergencymedicine, extracorporeal perfusion, hypothermic organ preservation, and cryobiologyresearch protocols. But there has not been one comprehensive work that unifies andorganizes all these protocols and practices for all of the separate steps of cryonics. I aminvolved in an ambitious project to research, reconstruct and document the existing and rec-ommended procedures and their rationale at Alcor.

Earlier this year, Alcor became painfully aware that it does not have a comprehensivepublished written protocol for the complete cryopreservation process. As a consequence, itwas decided to expedite this part of the project. Of all elements of the documentationproject, the protocol is a “living document” par excellence. As a consequence, the Alcorprotocol that is published in this magazine will be further refined and altered as research andpractical experience evolve. For those with practical and medical background it should beevident how Alcor’s protocol is a combination of adapting routine medical procedures andspecific considerations that pertain to cryonics patients.

Protocols and standard operating procedures do not enforce themselves. In cryonics inparticular, the delivery of acceptable services benefits from a vigilant membership andperiodic reviews of the quality of care. Alcor hopes that readers of this protocol will becomemotivated to learn about the technical details of cryonics and will become more deeplyinvolved in the technical aspects of the organization, including the technical objectivesoutlined in its protocols.

This issue adds a number of contributions to the discussion about Alcor’s financialstability. In recent months this discussion has moved from speculation about our challengesand solutions to more data-based analysis, culminating in a number of Board decisions tostrengthen Alcor’s financial future. Alcor member and nanotechnology researcher RobertFreitas has produced a very useful scenario analysis using a simple econometric model ofAlcor finances. This document (http://www.tinyurl.com/alcorfinance) is too large for themagazine, but Robert has kindly submitted a brief summary of his findings and recommen-dations for our readers.

In recent issues we have featured member profiles of new Board members. In comingissues we will be focusing on a number of Alcor staff members. We start off with a memberprofile of Dr. Michael Perry. As a recognized writer on the history of cryonics and regularcontributor to this magazine, Mike should need no introduction. At least as interesting isMike’s participation in Alcor’s technical operations and his ambitious writings on theprospects of physical immortality. His member profile is complemented with excerpts of arevised edition of his book Forever for All to showcase the breadth and depth of this prolificthinker and writer.

This issue also prints a letter to the editor and a response from Alcor Director RalphMerkle. I cannot think of a better reminder to our readers that Cryonics is glad to receivesuch letters or other contributions from members or interesting writers.

Aschwin de Wolf


Alcor director Ralph Merkle very kindly took the trouble to respond to my article on underfunding.However, the insurance policies that he advocates, with an escalating face value indexed to inflation,generally don’t exist anymore, according to two brokers whom I consulted. His alternative idea of

insurance that allows you to increase the face value, anytime, “at the same rate” as when you bought the policy,seems to be a total fantasy. His proposal to allow financial concessions for “hardship cases” would presumablyrequire Alcor staff to assess the situation of each prospective member, and select “those in need,” even thoughthis would be a time-consuming, contentious, and divisive process, subject to challenges. Lastly, his cheerful sug-gestion that reliable financing could be supplemented with unreliable financing, such as bequests, ignores the factthat weak funding arrangements have cost Alcor a lot of money in court battles with hostile relatives. Such acase occurred less than a year ago. Surely, an Alcor director could not have forgotten this expensive lesson.

(Charles Platt)

Ralph Merkle responds

While I would characterize myself as “enumerating” rather than “advocating” the various options, andwhile I might characterize them somewhat differently, I would like to thank Charles Platt forexpressing with such eloquence their undesirable aspects. Unfortunately, the remaining options that

he did not describe are not necessarily all that much better. If we reject the options he condemns, we find wemust then embrace (a) terminating members who cannot afford the new rates or (b) cryopreserving them, butgiving them an ever lower quality of service as inflation continues to eat away at the value of their grandfatheredminimum, eventually providing only a straight freeze or (c) adopting mandatory neuropreservation for wholebody patients who can no longer meet the minimums for whole body cryopreservation (which is only a possi-bility for about a third of Alcor’s members but which would significantly reduce our financial exposure) or (d)subsidizing grandfathered members and by that act draining resources that we need to respond to the challengesthat face us and increasing the risks to all of us.

We must choose between unpleasant alternatives. It would be useful to know which option or combinationof options is least unpleasant – which involves exploring the unpleasantness in some detail. I expect there willcontinue to be discussions about the relative merit (or lack of merit) of the various possibilities for some time,and I doubt if there will ever be 100% agreement. But further discussion will hopefully help us make betterdecisions. �

ETTER TO THE eDITORL

It’s often quipped that getting cryopre-served is the second-worst thing thatcan happen to you – death without cryo-

preservation being the worst thing. Butgetting cryopreserved is actually the third-worst thing that can happen to you, not thesecond. The second-worst thing that canhappen to you is getting cryopreserved by anorganization that runs out of money beforeyou can be revived, possibly resulting in yourthawing without revival.

In early July 2010, Ralph Merkle and Iwere discussing his then-forthcoming articlein Cryonics magazine on “Funding YourCryopreservation.” While Alcor is unques-tionably the financially strongest organiza-tion in the cryonics industry, Ralph’s articlenoted that current members and serviceswere underfunded in the long term andpresented a long list of possible solutions. Itoccurred to me that it might be worthwhileto put together a quantitative model ofAlcor’s finances that could be used as atestbed for considering various proposedsolutions described in the article. Ralphagreed and asked me to proceed with theeffort.

By early September 2010, I’d assembledan Excel spreadsheet and performed anobjective analysis of Alcor finances usingonly publicly available information.* Non-technical readers should be forewarned –some mathematical equations are involved!The spreadsheet provides a numerical modelof income and expenses and explicitly incor-porates most of the policy control leversavailable to the Board. The study also looksat the overall long-term effects on Alcor’snet revenues if you pull one or more of thelevers, this way or that.

The analysis starts by creating a modelof Alcor’s expenses using historical datafrom 1990-2008. Statistical correlation is

employed to predict the expense data usingthree independent variables: number ofmembers, number of cryopatients, andnumber of cryopreservations per year.Using various assumed growth rate scenariosfor these three independent variables, Alcorexpenses can be projected forward 30 yearsinto the future. The analysis continues withthe creation of a similar model of Alcor’srevenues based on historical data from 1990-2008. Statistical correlation is againemployed to predict the revenue data usingsub-models for each of Alcor’s five principalconsolidated revenue sources: (1) dues, (2)standby fees, (3) proceeds from cryo-preservations, (4) Patient Care Trust (PCT)earnings, and (5) grants, donations andbequests. Each revenue stream can bepredicted using the same three independentvariables as before. This allows Alcor’srevenues – and, after subtracting predictedexpenses, any budget shortfalls or surpluses– to be projected forward 30 years into thefuture.

The analysis yielded several interestingconclusions and recommendations:

(1) Assuming dues/fees and requiredfunding minimums are fixed at today’slevels, there are no adjustments madefor inflation, and the informal “grand-fathering” policy remains in place, thenAlcor is apparently losing money onevery new member. This loss is nowbeing covered by donations or bequests.The deficit appears to be at least$700/yr per member in 2010.

(2) Immediately adding an annual cost-of-living adjustment for ongoing inflation(~2%/yr in 2010) to Alcor dues, feesand funding minimums eliminatesabout one-third of the projected long-

term (30-yr) budget shortfall.

(3) If inflation-adjusted dues/fees areramped up over some reasonable periodof time to a bit more than twice currentlevels, the other two-thirds of theprojected long-term budget shortfallover the next 30 years can be elimi-nated. Members could be permanently“grandfathered” in this scenario.

(4) Alcor should immediately perform abottom-up study of the actual cost ofinitially placing patients into cryostasisand the subsequent annual cost of long-term storage. The results of such astudy would provide a rational basis forsetting dues and cryopreservationfunding minimums.

(5) Ideally, the bulk of Alcor’s basic coreexpenses should be supported by mem-bership revenues. We should try toreserve donations, grants and bequestsfor long-term investments such as aug-menting the patient care trust fund,creating a permanent endowment fund,and research aimed at making genuinemedical progress such as improvingcryopreservation techniques, biologicaland physical research, brain studies, andultimately supporting and developingkey strategies for revival. �


Long-Term FinancialStability in Cryonics

* Robert Freitas’s comprehensive document ‘ScenarioAnalysis using a Simple Econometric Model of Alcor Finances’

is available on the Alcor website at the followingaddress: http://www.tinyurl.com/alcorfinance

By Robert A. Freitas, Jr.


This protocol description is adaptedwith permission from the chapter,Alcor Life Extension Foundation Human

Cryopreservation Protocol Guidelines, from thebook, Human Cryopreservation Procedures. As ofDecember, 2010, this book is under develop-ment by authors Aschwin de Wolf andCharles Platt under contract to Alcor.

The protocol is an ideal that Alcor seeksto achieve, but that in many cases will not bepossible. Obstacles preventing ideal proce-dures include insufficient notice of impendinglegal death, location of death, logistics anddeployment problems, and financial con-straints which are explained in more detail inthe policy on Comprehensive MemberStandby (CMS) on the Alcor website.

ObjectivesThe objective of cryonics is to stabilize

critically ill patients after cardiac arrest, atcryogenic temperatures, in anticipation offuture resuscitation. At Alcor, cryonics isviewed as a form of experimental criticalcare medicine, with members in biostasisconsidered patients. Because human cryo-preservation is not available as an electivemedical procedure, cryonics procedures canonly be initiated after the pronouncement oflegal death. The procedures to achieve thisobjective have been developed by Alcor overmany years in consultation with externalexperts in cerebral resuscitation and tissueand organ cryopreservation.

Alcor offers whole body cryo-preservation and neuro preservation. Inboth options the preservation of the brainas the anatomical basis of the person has thehighest priority. During the initial stages ofcryonics procedures the ideal objective of

the Alcor protocol is to secure viability ofthe brain by contemporary biological criteria.This means that Alcor’s initial stabilizationprocedures should not be harmful in them-selves and that the reversal of theseprotocols should be possible in principle.

During the subsequent phase, whichinvolves cryoprotectant perfusion andcooldown below 0 degrees Celsius to cryogenictemperatures, this objective is no longer attain-able as a result of cryoprotectant toxicity andstructural injury associated with thermal stress,and is replaced by the more modest objective ofgood ultrastructural preservation.

Non-Ideal CasesThe procedures described in this

document are what is attempted under ideallogistical and biological conditions. The cir-cumstances under which legal death occurscan be highly variable, and in many casessome or all these procedures except forcooling may be impossible. Unless membersmaking cryopreservation arrangementsexpress other written preferences, it is ageneral principle of cryonics that cryo-preservation should proceed after legaldeath even under poor biological conditionswhen standard protocol procedures cannotbe performed. This is done to preserve asmuch remaining biological information aspossible because in most cases it is theoreti-cally impossible to determine whether allbrain information encoding memory andpersonal identity has been truly lost.

Summary of CryonicsProcedures

Alcor’s cryonics protocol ideallyconsists of four distinct elements: (1)

deployment and standby, (2) stabilization, (3)cryoprotectant perfusion, (4) cryogeniccooldown.

(1) Deployment and standby. If Alcor isnotified of a pending case or emergencya standby team is deployed to thelocation of the patient to ensure rapidintervention after pronouncement oflegal death.

(2) Stabilization. After pronouncement oflegal death rapid cooling is initiated, cir-culation is restored, the lungs may beventilated, and medications are adminis-tered to protect against blood clottingand keep the brain viable. In remote sta-bilization cases where transport toAlcor’s operating room may take up to24 hours, the blood is ideally replacedwith an organ preservation solution toenhance cooling, prevent bloodclotting, and protect against coldischemia.

(3) Cryoprotectant perfusion. Afterarrival of the patient at the Alcorfacility, the patient’s blood (or organ

Alcor Life ExtensionFoundation Human CryopreservationProtocol


preservation solution) is replaced with avitrification solution. Circulation ofthis solution through blood vessels atcold temperatures partially replaceswater inside cells with chemicals thatreduce or prevent ice crystallizationduring further cooldown to cryogenictemperatures.

(4) Cryogenic cooldown. After cryopro-tectant perfusion the patient is graduallycooled to the temperature of liquidnitrogen for long term care. In thefuture, as appropriately reliableequipment becomes available, coolingmay terminate and long-term mainte-nance may occur slightly below the glasstransition temperature, to minimizestructural damage.

Deployment and StandbyAlcor maintains a local emergency

vehicle equipped with standby and stabiliza-tion equipment and at least one complete setof kits for remote deployment, and also hasaccess to similar cryonics emergencyvehicles maintained by SuspendedAnimation, Inc., in Southern California andFlorida. Alcor also makes an effort tomaintain basic or complete kits in regionalareas with a high number of cryonicsmembers. The organization determines allo-cation of standby resources throughperiodic review of the demographics andregional distribution of its members. Tominimize the chance of late or last-minutedeployment Alcor encourages members toinform the organization about their healthsituation and uses a color-coded membertracking system that guides deploymentpreparations and decisions.

Alcor materials are available for family,medical caregivers and third parties about itsprocedures to ensure an orderly and timelytransition between pronouncement of legaldeath and the start of cryonics procedures.Alcor will also request medical data about

the terminal patient to assist in determiningthe time and scope of deployment.Although Alcor does not participate in pre-mortem treatment of the patient, Alcor maydiscuss with family and caregivers themedical management of the terminalpatient. Alcor may also seek permission forplacement of non-invasive monitoringdevices.

Alcor maintains a DeploymentCommittee which normally includes its chiefexecutive, Medical Response Director, andthe Chief Medical Advisor. The committeeis charged with assessing and definingAlcor's Comprehensive Member Standbypolicy, establishing standby deploymentguidelines, and making real-time deploymentdecisions in emergency situations.

Unless unforeseen circumstances (suchas a last-minute remote case) do not permitfull deployment, Alcor stabilization protocolideally requires four team members to bepresent at the start of cryonics procedures.To avoid fatigue and errors, standby teammembers are rotated in pairs, on a 12-hourcycle, to allow for sufficient rest and sleep.The stabilization team will typically beheaded by Alcor’s Medical ResponseDirector, who is a nationally certifiedparamedic. Additional team members mayinclude other Alcor staff members withEMT (emergency medical technician)training, local volunteers with cryonics stabi-lization training, or a Standby Team ofSuspended Animation, Inc, which iscomposed of trained staff members andconsulting professional perfusionists andsurgeons. If there is insufficient notice forAlcor or Suspended Animation, Inc., toreach the location of a cryonics case beforelegal death, emergency stabilization may beperformed entirely by local volunteer teammembers. At Alcor’s discretion, or memberchoice, stabilization may also be performedentirely by Suspended Animation, Inc.

Alcor offers education and training toits members and interested medical profes-sionals in basic human cryopreservationprocedures. In addition, anyone who feelsmotivated to participate actively in cases mayseek more advanced training. A network ofvolunteers and trained members may becalled upon to assist in remote cases or basiclogistical or stabilization tasks.

StabilizationThe objective of stabilization is to

maintain viability of the brain by contempo-rary biological criteria after legal pro-

nouncement of death. To achieve thispurpose four different procedures areideally employed:

1. Cardiopulmonary Support. Circulationis restored to provide oxygenated bloodto the brain and to enhance cooling.Depending on specific circumstances,the lungs may be ventilated.

2. Induction of Hypothermia. The tem-perature of the patient is lowered to justabove 0 degrees Celsius to depressmetabolism.

3. Administration of Medications. Drugsare administered to improve circulation,inhibit blood clotting, and to protect thebrain.

4. Blood substitution. If the patient isdistant from Alcor’s facilities, and if itis logistically possible to do so, theblood of the patient is substituted withan organ preservation solution toenhance cooling, prevent bloodclotting, and protect against coldischemia.

Cardiopulmonary support, induction ofhypothermia, and administration of medica-tions are initiated as quickly as possible afterdeath is pronounced. In practice, none ofthese procedures alone is sufficient tomaintain the brain in a viable state. Toensure that these interventions are executedconcurrently, a minimum number of fourteam members will be present at the start ofstabilization. Their tasks will include datacollection for subsequent review andanalysis.

Stabilization procedures end wheneither the temperature of the patient hasbeen lowered close to the freezing point ofwater or when blood washout is started toprepare for cryoprotectant perfusion. Inremote cryonics cases blood substitution isan option prior to transport to the cryonicsfacility.

Cardiopulmonary SupportCardiopulmonary support (CPS) is dis-

tinguished from cardiopulmonary resuscita-tion (CPR) because the objective of circula-tion and ventilation in cryonics is not resus-citation of the patient but to prevent (addi-tional) ischemic injury.

The three objectives of cardiopul-monary support are:


1. Restore circulation of oxygenatedblood to the brain

2. Circulate medications

3. Improve the rate of external cooling

After pronouncement of legal death thepatient is transferred to the portable ice bathand mechanical cardiopulmonary support isstarted. Mechanical devices allow for consis-tent and aggressive chest compressions, per-mitting continued CPS during transport ofthe patient. They also prevent fatigue ofstandby team members and release teammembers to perform other important tasks.The preferred method of cardiopulmonarysupport is battery-powered mechanicalactive-compression decompression. Thesecond preferred option is gas-poweredmechanical active-compression decompres-sion. The third option is gas-powered con-ventional mechanical chest compression.When mechanical devices are not availableor not functional, manual compression-decompression chest compressions shouldbe initiated through the use of theCardiopump. Conventional (i.e., hands only)chest compressions should only be pursuedwhen all other options are exhausted.

In line with recent CPR guidelines,Alcor emphasizes the importance of contin-uous and vigorous chest compressions.Continuous chest compressions inducemoderate air movement in and out of thelungs, help to mitigate the risk of reperfu-sion injury and hyperventilation whenmetabolism is depressed by hypothermia.

If medical professionals are available toplace a secure airway to initiate positivepressure ventilation an inspiratoryimpedance threshold valve (ITV) should beplaced between the endotracheal tube (orKing Airway) and the oxygen source toprevent ventilations during the decompres-sion phase of chest compressions. The goalis to maximize cardiac output. The chestcompression-to-ventilation ratio is 30:2 andshould be reduced to 60:2 below 32 degreesCelsius. No positive pressure ventilationsshould be initiated after 30 minutes of nor-mothermic circulatory arrest.

Unless surgical expertise is available toperform surgery with minimal interruptionof circulation, CPS should continue until thepatient has reached a core temperature of 20degrees Celsius to prevent ischemic injuryduring preparation for blood substitution orcryoprotective perfusion.

Induction of HypothermiaExternal cooling of the patient should

be started immediately after pronouncementof legal death to depress metabolism. Thepatient is moved from the bed to a portableice bath (PIB) that contains ice and coldwater to facilitate cooling during transport,and increase cooling rate. The patient shouldbe completely immersed in ice and waterwith a primary emphasis on the head andareas with major surface vessels such as theneck, axilla and groin. Because the total areaof contact between dry cubed ice and thepatient is inevitably limited, some water isessential, to maximize heat transfer. Itshould cover as much of the patient’s skin aspossible, and is circulated via a system ofperforated tubing attached to a submersiblepump. Water is flowed rather than sprayedover the patient, to reduce the risk ofinfection via airborne droplets if the patienthas a contagious disease.

Concurrent start of aggressive car-diopulmonary support increases the coolingrate by moving warm blood from the core ofthe patient to the surface for heat exchange.The objective of all these procedures is toachieve the fast cooling rates that are seen incold water immersion without sacrificingcardiopulmonary support and medicationadministration.

A minor degree of internal coolingduring stabilization can be achieved bycooling the medications and fluids beforethey are administered. Mannitol should beexempted from this procedure because thesolution will crystallize if it is maintained atlow temperatures.

Cooling the patient should continuewithout interruption during transport to thefuneral home or during surgical procedures.Logging the temperature of the patient isimportant to monitor the effects of coolingefforts and for subsequent case reporting.

Because even the fastest cooling ratescannot stay ahead of ischemic injury withoutcirculation of oxygenated blood and admin-istration of neuroprotective medications,induction of hypothermia cannot be a sub-stitute for these interventions. This is partic-ularly important during the start of stabiliza-tion procedures because energy depletion isrunning faster than cooling can depressmetabolism.

If no ice bath is available, a heavyweightbody bag can be used to surround thepatient with ice without spilling and leaking.

In typical cases, the patient should notbe cooled below the freezing point of water

(0 degrees Celsius). The patient may only becooled below the freezing point of water ifAlcor has made the decision that long timedelays before stabilization, or expectedduring transport, will make cryoprotectantperfusion impossible. In such cases thepatient must be held at the temperature ofdry ice (–78.5 degrees Celsius), with theunderstanding that this will inflict verysevere brain injury as a result of freezing. Ifa patient is frozen, special care must be takento avoid thawing and re-freezing, which willcause even more damage. The application ofdry ice without cryoprotectant perfusion(so-called “straight freezing”) should beviewed as a desperation measure whichcannot be reversed.

Administration of MedicationsAdministration of medications should

be started as soon as the patient has beenplaced in the portable ice bath. If the patientalready has a patent intravenous line in place,or if no portable ice bath is available, theadministration of the first medications canstart sooner. Under no circumstances shouldAlcor team members start or authorize theadministration of medication prior to pro-nouncement of legal death.

Each medication falls into one of threecategories:

1. Small volume medications (such asheparin and streptokinase)

2. Large volume fluids (such as hydrox-yethyl starch and mannitol)

3. Fluids that require gastric administra-tion (Maalox)

The administration of the small-volumemedications and the large-volume fluidsshould commence at the same time. This isparticularly important if the patient isseverely dehydrated at the start of stabiliza-tion procedures. The simultaneous adminis-


tration of the small-volume medications andthe large-volume fluids can be achievedeither by pushing the small medications intothe line or by establishing a second IV line.

If there is no delay between pronounce-ment of legal death and the start of stabi-lization procedures the full set of medica-tions should be administered.Small Volume Medications

(1) Propofol (200 mg - fixed dosage)Propofol is a general anesthetic and is used

for two reasons. The first reason is to reducemetabolic demand, and the second reason isto prevent the theoretical possibility ofrecovery of awareness due to aggressive car-diopulmonary support.

(2) Streptokinase (250,000 IU – fixeddosage)Streptokinase is a thrombolytic used to

break up existing blood clots that caninterfere with blood circulation and cryopro-tective perfusion.

(3) Heparin (100,000 IU – fixed dosage)Heparin is an anticoagulant that prevents

the formation of blood clots that can interferewith blood circulation and cryoprotectiveperfusion. Heparin loses effectiveness at lowpH (pH < 6.7), so control of pH is importantduring a cryonics stabilization. This is whyother anticoagulants are also important.

(4) Aspirin (300 mg –fixed dosage)Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory and anti-

platelet agent that is used to inhibit plateletaggregation.

Note: Aspirin is reconstituted with5 ml THAM and injected intoTHAM bottle.

(5) Vasopressin (200 IU – fixed dosage –intermittent administration)Vasopressin is a vasopressor that is used to

increase blood pressure during cardiopul-monary support. There is no need to admin-ister vasopressin if the patient’s temperature isnear or below +20 °C at time of administra-tion as it is ineffective at cold temperatures.

(6) Epinephrine (30 mg – fixed dosage -intermittent administration)Epinephrine is a vasopressor that is used to

increase blood pressure during cardiopul-monary support. There is no need to admin-ister epinephrine if the patient’s temperature isnear or below +20 °C at time of administra-tion as it is ineffective at cold temperatures.

(7) SMT (S-methyl-isothiourea) (400mg – fixed dosage)SMT is a neuroprotectant (iNOS inhibitor)

that is used to protect the brain fromischemic injury. SMT also raises bloodpressure.

(8) Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) (500 mg -fixed dosage)Niacinamide is a neuroprotectant (PARP

inhibitor) that is used to protect the brainfrom ischemic injury.

(9) Kynurenine sulfate (1.5 gram – fixeddosage)Kynurenine sulfate is a neuroprotectant

(excitotoxicity inhbitor) that is used toprotect the brain from ischemic injury.

(10) Ketorolac (7.5 to 15 mg - dosage bypatient weight) Ketorolac is a non-steroidal anti-inflam-

matory drug used to inhibit ischemia-induced inflammation.

(11) Gentamicin (80 mg – fixed dosage)Gentamicin is an antibiotic that is used to

protect the patient from microbial over-growth during long transport times.

Large Volume Medications

(12) Vital-Oxy (formerly known asOxynil) (70 ml or less –dosage bypatient weight)Vital-Oxy is a proprietary Critical Care

Research, Inc., emulsion of the antioxidantsmelatonin, vitamin E (as D-alpha tocopherol),PBN (alpha Phenyl t-Butyl Nitrone) and theanti-inflammatory agent carprofen.

(13) Hetastarch (250 ml – fixed dosage)Hetastarch is a volume expander used

to restore volume in dehydrated patients andincrease cerebral perfusion during CPS.

(14) THAM (Tris (hydroxymethyl)aminomethane) (100 ml – fixeddosage)THAM is a buffer that is used to mitigate

acidosis. If aspirin is dissolved in THAM itis called THAM plus.

(15) Mannitol (500 ml of 20% solution –fixed dosage)Mannitol is an osmotic diuretic agent that

is used to reduce cerebral edema andincrease blood volume.

Fluids That Require GastricAdministration

(16) Maalox (250 ml – fixed dosage)Maalox is an antacid that is used to stabilize

the pH of stomach contents to prevent erosionof the stomach wall by hydrochloric acid at lowtemperatures. Failure to prevent this can leadto contamination of the circulatory system withstomach contents and abdominal swellingduring later perfusion.

If there is a delay of more than one hourafter cardiac arrest, an abbreviated list of med-ications should be administered.

1. Streptokinase (250,000 IU – fixeddosage)

2. Heparin (100,000 IU – fixed dosage)

3. Tempol (if available) (5 g – fixed dosage– dissolved in citrate)

5. Gentamicin (80 mg – fixed dosage)

6. Mannitol (500 ml of 20% solution –fixed dosage)

7. Maalox (250 ml – fixed dosage)

Administration of these medicationsshould be followed by at least ten minutes ofchest compressions to distribute the medica-tions, accompanied by surface cooling.

The vasopressors epinephrine andvasopressin should be administered inter-mittently to ensure higher cerebralbloodflow. The effects of vasopressor med-ications can be assessed through the use ofend tidal CO2 monitoring.

Maalox is not introduced to the circula-tory system but to the stomach of thepatient. This requires the placement of thedouble-lumen King LTS-D Airway or a desig-nated gastric tube. Unless placement of theKing LTS-D Airway is not possible, theKing LTS-D Airway is the preferred methodfor Maalox administration because it allowsfor simultaneous ventilation. Maalox shouldonly be administered through the insertedgastric tube in the rear channel of the KINGLTS-D Airway if the team leader hasreceived confirmation that the KING LTS-D has not been accidentally placed in thetrachea. A gastric tube should only be placedby an experienced medical professional.

If Alcor is not successful in persuadingthe patient’s caregivers to leave an IV line inplace, the preferred method of medicationadministration is intraosseous infusion. Ifintraosseous infusion is not available, orcontra-indicated for the patient, an experi-enced team member should place a periph-


eral IV line. Central IV lines should only beplaced by qualified medical professionals.Techniques such as pressure infusion shouldonly be used by those with extensive experi-ence such as paramedics.

Preparation of the medications shouldstart at least one hour before the estimatedtime of circulatory arrest or on the way to thepatient if (s)he has already been pronounced.Compounds that have been prepared in-houseat Alcor should be filter-sterilized prior toadministration. Mannitol should be checkedfor crystals before administration. If there arecrystals in the solution the solution should bewarmed to dissolve them. If the crystalscannot be eliminated the fluid should not beintroduced to the patient.

In instances where team members areuncertain about dosage, methods of admin-istration, or other issues, they can contactAlcor’s medical advisor, who should beavailable by phone at all times duringstandby, stabilization, and transport of thepatient. Team members should notimprovise on their own initiative.

The start of blood washout or cryoprotec-tive perfusion should not be delayed tocomplete administration of medications. Ifadministration of the remaining medications isstill deemed desirable they can be added to theorgan preservation solution during perfusion.

Remote blood substitutionIn remote cases, blood substitution with

an organ preservation solution prior totransport at hypothermic temperatures isdesirable unless it is logistically impossible todo so. Remote blood substitution has thefollowing objectives:

1. Rapid induction of ultraprofoundhypothermia.

2. Prevention of clotting, red cell sludgingand “no-reflow.”

3. Maintaining viability of the brain duringtransport.

Alcor uses an Air TransportablePerfusion circuit (ATP), or, if available, theStockert SCPC portable clinical perfusionsystem, to replace the blood of the patient.The organ preservation solution of choice atAlcor is MHP-2. MHP-2 is an asanguineoushyperosmolar intracellular whole body organpreservation solution.

MHP-2Mannitol 170 mMAdenine-HCL 0.94 mMD-ribose 0.94 mMSodium bicarbonate 10 mMPotassium chloride 28.3 mMCalcium chloride 1 mMMagnesium chloride 1 mMHEPES 15 mMGlutathione 3 mMD-Glucose (Dextrose) 5 mMHydroxyethyl starch 50 g per LHeparin 1000 I.U. per LInsulin 40 I.U. per LOsmolality 388-403 mOsmpH 8.0-8.2

To facilitate rapid cooling, MHP-2should be kept as close as possible to thefreezing point of water (0 degrees Celsius).A heat exchanger built into the ATP circuitis designed to reduce the temperature tonear freezing, if necessary, before thesolution enters the patient. Heparin andinsulin should be added to MHP-2 duringextracorporeal circulation. At this point, anyremaining stabilization medications (with theexception of Maalox) can be injected intothe circuit as well.

Remote blood washout should only beundertaken in the absence of contra-indica-tions for this procedure. The contra-indica-tions for remote blood substitution rangefrom “pre-mortem” patient pathologies topractical and logistical challenges:

Contra-indications for Remote Blood Substitution

• More than six hours since legal deathoccurred.

• Omitting remote blood substitution willreduce transport time significantly.

• Reaching the nearest funeral home orother location that allows blood substi-tution will result in excessive cardiopul-monary support times

• There are no team members withextensive experience and knowledge ofcardiopulmonary bypass present on thecase

• Inspection of the blood organ preser-vation solution (MHP2) revealsbacterial growth

• Inspection of the blood organ preser-vation solution composition suggests

errors in perfusate composition

• The presence of systemic edema (fluidaccumulation throughout the body) thatmay have occurred during cardiopul-monary support

• Active gastrointestinal bleeding at thetime of cardiac arrest

• Prolonged splanchnic ischemia orsevere abdominal swelling

• Severe pulmonary edema

• Severe cerebral edema

• Prolonged periods of warm cerebralischemia

To facilitate a smooth transition fromcardiopulmonary support to blood substitu-tion Alcor will normally attempt to deploy ateam of at least two individuals to a cooper-ating funeral home to set up and prime theperfusion circuit. These team members shouldalso obtain additional ice to further cool thepatient and to be used as the heat exchangemedium during blood washout. In some cases(e.g., home hospice) remote blood substitu-tion may be possible at the patient’s bedside.This option should be discussed with thepatient, the patient’s medical surrogate, andmedical caregivers in advance.

Remote blood substitution requiressurgery and cannulation of the major bloodvessels of the patient. The preferredprocedure at Alcor is femoral-femoral can-nulation. Most surgical alternatives tofemoral cannulation can cause complicationsduring cryoprotective perfusion and shouldonly be performed by experienced surgeonsin absence of the contra-indications forremote blood substitution.

Interruption of circulation should beminimized during surgery. This is particu-larly important if surgery is initiated whenthe patient’s core body temperature is stillclose to body temperature. If extendedinterruptions of circulation are expectedduring surgery, the procedure should not beinitiated until the patient’s core body temper-ature has been lowered to 20 degrees Celsius.Cooling should never be halted duringsurgery; the patient should remain sur-rounded by ice.

As a general rule, Alcor abstains fromremote blood substitution if there are noexperienced clinical or research surgeons onthe team (unless it is determined that a local


funeral director has the required experienceto do the surgery and cannulation). Alcor’sstaff paramedic has received the requisitesurgical training, and surgeons qualified forcryonics vascular access may also besupplied by Suspended Animation, Inc., orCritical Care Research, Inc., under contractto Alcor. If there is uncertainty or debateabout the presence of any of the contra-indications, Alcor shall abstain from remoteblood substitution.

Remote blood substitution should onlybe initiated when there is either a functionalATP or a conventional perfusion circuitpresent. The use of embalming pumps is notpermitted because such pumps do not permitadequate control and monitoring of pressure.

The purpose of the initial stage of bloodsubstitution is to wash out the blood of thepatient. When the venous effluent of thepatient indicates that the blood has beenwashed out (as evidenced by a clear color orno further changes in color), the ATP isswitched from “open circuit” (washout) modeto “closed circuit” (recirculating) mode, andMHP-2 continues to circulate through theheat exchanger until the core temperature ofthe patient approaches the freezing point ofwater. Generally speaking, the ATP is stoppedwhen core patient temperature falls below 5degrees Celsius, although the procedure maybe aborted before this point if there is aspecial advantage in doing so, such as the needto coincide with available air transportschedules. The patient should be prepared fortransport after closing the surgical incisions.

If practical to do so, the patient shouldbe weighed prior and after completion ofblood substitution if this capability isavailable at a funeral home.

Patient TransportFor cases where the location of the

patient is accessible more quickly, overall, byground than by air, Alcor employs an

emergency vehicle that maintains at least allthe equipment that is available for remotestabilizations. Periodic inventory check-upsand test drives should ensure that theemergency vehicle is always immediatelyavailable for casework. In a typical local casethe Alcor vehicle is parked close to thelocation of the patient. During standby thevehicle can also be used for drawing up med-ications and assembling equipment. Thevehicle is equipped with a lift gate to transferthe portable ice bath into the vehicle.Parking should permit sufficient room forthe lift gate to operate.

If the patient is located outside of thepractical range of Alcor’s emergency vehicle,the patient will be transported to Alcor’soperating room by scheduled airline or, ifappropriate financial arrangements havebeen made, by air ambulance. The patient isplaced in a case for the shipment of“cadavers” (often a “Ziegler” case). TheZiegler case is insulated and placed in a boxwhich is typically used for air shipment andshould be available from any mortuary.

The standby team should take great careto ensure that the case does not leak water orbody fluids because such events can result inthe shipment being taken off the plane andheld for inspection. To prevent leakage ofbody fluids, the patient should be placed in abody bag surrounded with ice inside theZiegler case. To prevent leakage of waterfrom melting ice, the ice should be placed inlarge (2.5 gallon) Zip Loc bags.

The quantity of ice should be sufficient toallow for at least 48 hours of transport. Thisquantity will vary according to the patient’sweight and body temperature at the time ofshipment, subject to the different ice restric-tions imposed by different airlines. A chart maybe provided for guidance on this topic.

If ice has been stored in a freezer, careshould be taken that it has warmed to 0 degreesCelsius and is actively melting before packingwith a cryonics patient. If a bag of ice hasvisible white frost on it, then it is too cold touse. Bags suspected of being too cold shouldbe warmed by running water over them until allthe ice inside is visibly wet and melting.

If airline regulations do not permitshipping the patient with water ice,hypothermia can be maintained by cold packs.Alternatively, Terra-Sorb hydrogel crystals canbe mixed with bagged ice, using 2 teaspoonsof hydrogel crystals per gallon of ice. Thiswill convert liquid water into a gel that cannotleak. Like ice bags, cold packs and hydrogel icebags should always be warmed enough that

they don’t have frost on them. Condensationof liquid water on bags or ice bags standing inroom air is normal and expected.

At least one team member should be inthe same airplane as the patient to intervenewith airline personnel and serve as anadvocate for the patient if there are unex-pected delays or complications. Temperatureof the patient should be logged duringtransport. This temperature logger shouldnot be the same as the one that was usedduring stabilization, to prevent data frombeing lost during transport or handling.

Monitoring of StabilizationProcedures

A standby team should include one des-ignated scribe. The main task of the scribe isto collect data and record observationsduring the case. At a minimum, the scribeshould record and describe all the pertinentevents during a case, including the following:

– Deployment and case preparation

– Medical data of the patient obtainedfrom medical caregivers

– Time of pronouncement of legal death

– Start and completion of stabilizationprocedures

– Start and completion of cardiopul-monary support

– Start and completion of initial cooling

– Time of IV placement

– Time of administration of all the med-ications and fluids

– Intermittent temperature data

– Start and completion of surgery

– Start and completion of blood substitu-tion

– Intermittent pressure data during bloodsubstitution

– Any interruptions of procedures andunusual events

– Start and completion of preparation ofthe patient for transport

Nasal and rectal temperatures should belogged from the start of stabilization proce-dures until the completion of stabilizationprocedures.

End tidal CO2 measurements should becollected during cardiopulmonary support.If available, a digital end-tidal CO2 should beused because it provides more detailed infor-


mation about the efficacy of cardiopul-monary support.

If enough personnel and expertise areavailable, blood samples (blood gases andelectrolytes) should be collected immediatelyafter pronouncement of legal death and atintermittent points during stabilization pro-cedures. These samples should be sent to alab for independent analysis.

Prior to the start of blood substitution,a sample of the organ preservation solutionshould be collected for in-house qualityassurance purposes.

It is important to note that a scribeshould go beyond merely writing downnumbers. All kinds of observations arevaluable, and indeed they may be crucial, at alater date, in understanding what happenedduring a case, and why. In addition, westrongly believe that photographs and videoof procedures should be created todocument a case, provided that interestedparties such as relatives, medical personnel,and mortuary staff permit this. While somepeople have expressed concern that visualmaterials may be stolen or placed in publicforums, we feel that they can actually protectthe cryonics organization and its personnelby demonstrating that procedures werecarried out conscientiously. If there isanxiety about the possible theft of records,surely the answer to this problem is toprotect the records from theft, rather than tostop creating records. Alcor’s signupdocuments clearly state that cryonics is anexperimental procedure. Any experimentalprocedure should be documented as com-pletely as possible, so that others can learnfrom it, and procedures can be improved.

At a minimum, the team leader shouldbe equipped with a voice recorder todocument important events as they occur.Scribe notes and voice recordings areessential for constructing a correct timelineof the case. A separate scribe sheet isavailable for data collection during theterminal phase. All scribe sheets and voicerecordings should be surrendered to desig-nated Alcor representatives after completingthe case, and a signed, formal acknowledg-ment of receipt should be obtained.

Cryoprotective PerfusionCryoprotective perfusion is the core

procedure of Alcor’s human cryo-preservation protocol. Without the intro-duction of a vitrification solution, extensivedamage to the brain should be expected. Toachieve good morphological preservation of

the brain, the blood (or organ preservationsolution) in the patient is replaced by a vitri-fication solution. Alcor’s vitrificationsolution, M22, is licensed from 21st CenturyMedicine, Inc. It is the least toxic vitrifica-tion solution known in peer reviewed litera-ture for its concentration, and providesstrong protection against ice formation atslow cooling rates.

M22Dimethyl sulfoxide 22.305% w/vFormamide 12.858%Ethylene glycol 16.837%N-methylformamide 3%3-methoxy-1,2-propanediol 4%Polyvinyl pyrrolidone K12 2.8%X-1000 ice blocker 1%Z-1000 ice blocker 2%

A modified version of M22 is used tomitigate edema during the perfusion ofwhole body patients. In both whole bodyand neuro patients, M22 is introduced in ahypertonic carrier solution called LM5.

LM5Glucose 90 mMMannitol 45 mMAlpha-Lactose Monohydrate 45 mMPotassium Chloride 28.2 mMPotassium phosphate

dibasic trihydrate 7.2 mMGluthathione (reduced) 5 mMAdenine HCl 1 mMSodium Bicarbonate 10 mM

The concentration of these LM5solutes is the same in the base perfusate(starting perfusate), and the M22 solutionthat is added to the base perfusate, so thatthe concentration of these LM5 carriersolution solutes remains constant during thewhole process of cryoprotectant perfusion.

Upon arrival at the Alcor facility, amedian sternotomy should be performed tocannulate the great vessels of the heart(aorta and right atrium) for whole bodypatients. Vascular access surgery for wholebody or neuropatients at Alcor is performedby physicians or veterinary surgeons. Thefirst step is to wash out the blood (or priororgan preservation solution) with B1 baseperfusate. B1 consists of LM5 plus 1 mMcalcium chloride dehydrate, plus 2 mMmagnesium chloride hexahydrate, plus a pro-prietary additive that reduces edema.

After this step has been completed, theconcentration of M22 solutes in carrier

solution should be slowly ramped up in alinear fashion by progressively adding “M22concentrate” (1.25 times normal concentra-tion of M22 non-carrier solutes in LM5carrier solution) to the circulating B1 baseperfusate. The objective is to linearlyincrease the concentration of cryoprotec-tants in the circulating perfusate so that thearterial concentration of M22 solutesreaches 50% of target concentration in 100minutes. The target concentration is theconcentration of M22 solutes shown in theM22 composition table above, a concentra-tion which can be created in the laboratoryfor refractometer calibration purposes bydiluting a sample of M22 concentrate (1.25times concentrated M22) with a 25% addi-tional volume of B1 base perfusate.

When the arterial cryoprotectant con-centration reaches 50% of target concentra-tion, the rate of concentrate addition shouldbe reduced to hold the arterial concentrationnear 50% while the venous concentrationcatches up. During this time, the arterialperfusion temperature should be droppedfrom near +3.5 degrees Celsius to -3 degreesCelsius. When the venous effluent of M22reaches 50% of target nominal M22 concen-tration as measured by manual inspection ofrefractive index, the concentration of M22should be rapidly increased to between100% and 105% of target concentration.Cryoprotective perfusion is complete whenthe venous effluent concentration reaches100% of target and there is little fluctuationin the refractive index of the venouseffluent. In patients with extensive ischemicinjury cryoprotective perfusion should behalted when no notable gains in M22 equili-bration or severe cerebral edema isobserved.

In neuro patients, only the head isperfused, through the carotid arteries. Thisprocedure permits faster cooling rates,bilateral monitoring of the brain, and hasbeen observed to produce reduced burr holedrainage and facial edema. If there isevidence that the Circle of Willis is incom-plete, or damaged, the vertebral arteriesshould be cannulated as well. Otherwise theyare clamped. During isolated head perfusionthe head is secured in a cephalic enclosureand the venous return is filtered beforebeing partly returned to the patient.

Perfusion pressure during cryoprotectiveperfusion should be in the range of 100-120mmHg. Because cryoprotectant concentrationand lower temperatures both increaseviscosity the pump speed needs to be reduced


a number of times in the course of perfusion.A perfusion pressure of up to 140 mmHgmay be used, but may have to be reduced ifbrain swelling occurs. Perfusion pressuresbelow 80 mmHg should be avoided.

In all cases, Alcor introduces its vitrifi-cation solution by ramping up the concen-tration of the cryoprotectant componentslinearly to avoid osmotic injury that wouldoccur when cells are hit with a full-strengthhigh molar solution. M22 concentrate isgradually introduced to a mixing reservoirwhere the solution is continuously mixedwith the previously-perfused base perfusateB1 before it is introduced to the patient. Thevenous effluent is partly discarded (tomaintain volume of the mixing reservoir asM22 concentrate is added) and partlyreturned to the mixing reservoir to ensure alinear increase of the ramp and to reduceM22 volumes. In whole body patients, thecircuit should also include a cardiotomysucker to recover lost perfusate from thepatient’s chest cavity. A subzero heatexchanger should be used to lower theperfusate temperature below 0 degreesCelsius. At Alcor, LabView softwaremonitors the conduct of perfusion.

Cryoprotectant Perfusion MonitoringScribing and monitoring continues

during cryoprotective perfusion. Collectionof important data is automated, but thescribe should make an effort to documentthe flow of the case and record datamanually, including all events that may be atall pertinent. At a minimum the scribeshould record the following:

– Preparation and set-up of the cryopro-tective perfusion circuit

– Time of arrival of the patient

– Time of start and completion ofsurgery

– Start of blood / perfusate washout

– Start of cryoprotective perfusion

– Intermittent pressure readings

– Intermittent flow readings

– Intermittent perfusate and patient tem-perature data

– Manual refractive index measurements

– Any interruptions of procedures andunusual events

– Completion of cryoprotective perfusion.

Visual data are even more important,during cryoprotective perfusion, than duringfield work. Alcor maintains a video camerathat monitors events from a fixed position,but its record should be supplemented byhandheld camera photographs and videoshowing closeup details of surgical proce-dures, cannulation, shrinkage of the brainvisible through burr holes, and other data.

The status of the brain is visuallymonitored through two small holes in theskull (burr holes) made using a standard neu-rosurgical tool (14 mm Codman perforator).This permits observation of the osmoticresponse of the brain. A brain with substan-tial ischemic injury swells, indicating disrup-tion of the blood brain barrier, damage toendothelial cells, or compromise of waterregulation of the cells.

During cryoprotective perfusionLabView software collects cryoprotectantconcentration data from inline refractometers.These measurements can be consulted to lookat trends but should not be used for makingdecisions. Protocol decisions should be guidedby manual refractive index measures that areanalyzed by either benchtop refractometers orhandheld digital refractometers.

If practical to do so, in neuropreservationcases the cephalon should be weighed prior andafter completion of cryoprotective perfusion.

Cryogenic CooldownAfter completion or termination of cry-

oprotective perfusion the patient will beprepared for cryogenic cooldown. A “crack-phone” is placed in contact with the surfaceof the brain, to sonically detect subsequentfracturing events. Whole body patientsshould be transferred to a large insulatedcooling box, and neuro patients to a smalldewar. The cooldown process is softwarecontrolled. Liquid nitrogen is injected intothe cooling box or dewar and vaporizes,drawing heat from the patient. A fan circu-lates the vapor to further enhance cooling.The temperature is dropped rapidly toapproximately 110 degrees Celsius. Thattemperature is held at a plateau for 12 hoursto allow annealing, and is then droppedmore slowly over 100 hours to minimizethermal stress and fracturing. In a neuro casethe final descent from around -190 degreesCelsius to -196 degrees Celsius is achievedby gradually filling the dewar with liquidnitrogen. In whole body cases the patient istransferred to a Bigfoot dewar in a precooledsleeping bag for the final descent to liquidnitrogen temperature. Because whole body

transfers are done at room temperature,good logistical preparation and minimizingtransfer time is of the essence.

If cryoprotective perfusion is not possible,ice formation will start below 0 degrees Celsius.As a consequence, a slow uniform cooling rate(to minimize thermal stress caused by unequalcooling) can be maintained throughout thewhole temperature range.

Temperature and crackphone data arecollected by the software throughout thecooling process.

Long Term CareAfter cooldown to liquid nitrogen tem-

perature (-196 degrees Celsius) the patient ismaintained in a vacuum-insulated dewaruntil such a time in the future when resusci-tation may be deemed feasible. Long-termcare dewars should be equipped with levelsensors and alarms. Dewar refills shouldfollow a systematic, documented schedule.

Debriefing and Case ReportsAfter participation in the case, team

members are required to submit scribe sheets,recordings, and other notes to Alcor. Alcorshould schedule a debriefing session with allcase participants and advisors as soon as is con-venient after completion of the case. Theobjective of debriefing is to discuss strengthsand weaknesses of the case in an analytical,non-confrontational manner. The debriefingsession should be documented, and a transcriptshould be circulated among participants tocheck for accuracy and completeness. Usuallythe debriefing document should include a listwith action items to be completed. A follow-upmeeting should be scheduled to determineprogress on these items. These action items andtheir completion should also be documented inthe case report.

A case report should be generated,including every pertinent detail . Alcor maydecide to withhold some information toprotect the privacy of the patient. Casereports should be completed within 2 monthsafter the case and should follow a generaltemplate to allow for meaningful comparisonsbetween cases, and meta-analysis.

After completion of the case thestandby coordinator and other staffmembers should give priority to preparingAlcor for future cases. Equipment must beretrieved, cleaned, and refurbished, and con-sumable supplies must be replenished. Thisunglamorous routine work is obviously vitalto maintaining future response capability. �


Member Profile:

R. Michael Perry, Ph.D.By Chana de Wolf

If you have read an issue of Cryonicsbefore, then you are most likely familiarwith Dr. R. Michael Perry. Few people are

as universally respected within the cryonicscommunity as he, and with good reason.Working at Alcor since 1987, and serving asPatient Caretaker essentially the whole time,Dr. Perry has proved to be a dedicatedcryonics activist and has provided carefulwatch over those Alcor members who havebeen preserved cryogenically for futureadvances in medicine. Dr. Perry’s commit-ment to the care of Alcor patients has beensteadfast – a solid role model for the respon-sibility we have to protect the most vulnerableand defenseless of our fellow cryonicists.

It should come as no surprise, then, thatDr. Perry has contributed to Alcor and tocryonics in countless other ways. Applyinghis background in mathematics andcomputer science, he programmed much ofthe software Alcor used until recently toautomate cooldown to liquid nitrogen tem-perature. He maintains the patient logbookand does number crunching to produce casestatistics, predictions of expected case load,and other analyses meaningful to Alcor’soperations.

Combining technical knowledge and awell-developed intellectual philosophy aboutthe potential of the continued progress ofhumanity, Dr. Perry also contributes bywriting extensively about the moral issuessurrounding cryonics and life extension

technologies, ultimately expressing his com-prehensive view in the book Forever For All:Moral Philosophy, Cryonics, and the ScientificProspects for Immortality (available fromUniversal Publishers). He also performswriting tasks at Alcor, serves as de factoAlcor historian, and is a regular contributorto Cryonics magazine, where he has keptreaders abreast of breaking technologicalnews and written book reviews and otherarticles on a wide range of topics, includingalternatives to cryonics.

Since those of us in cryonics haveknown him as a singularly stationary man,it may be a surprise to some that Dr. Perry(“Mike”) moved around quite a bit beforesettling into his long career at Alcor. As theson of an Army Air Corps officer, he wasborn on Adak Island in the Aleutian chainin Alaska and moved from there to SouthCarolina, North Carolina, Virginia, andAlabama (his mother’s home state) over thenext dozen years. Then his father did a tourof duty in Morocco, where Mike lived fromage 12 to 14. Afterward his family returnedto the States, first spending a couple ofyears in Colorado and then to the island ofMaui, Hawaii, where Mike spent his senioryear of high school, graduating in 1965.There he got a summer job with a solarastronomer who had a telescope at the topof Mount Haleakala. Mike performedmathematical analysis and used the experi-ence and other work in mathematics to

prepare for his entry into the mathprogram at the University of Chicago.

Though he now remembers an episodeof Science Fiction Theater (“Dead Storage,”1955) as his first exposure to the idea offreezing an organism for later resuscitation,the pieces really started coming together forMike while he was in college. “In 1965 Iattended a lecture at the University ofChicago where the idea was offhandedlymentioned that some were thinking offreezing people at death for later revival.This was before anyone had actually beencryogenically preserved for this purpose,though the first attempt would occur only afew months later. I think the lecturer hadheard about the freezing idea as spinofffrom Robert Ettinger’s book, The Prospect ofImmortality, which had been commerciallypublished the previous year.”

Having abandoned belief in the super-natural in 1962, Mike had become acutelyaware that death was a problem that neededsolving, and that it probably could be solvedby advanced technologies eventually. But“eventually” is a hard pill to swallow whenyou want to save lives. “There must besomething we can do for people right now,”Mike thought. Freezing them upon cardiacarrest for later reanimation was the firstthing that came to mind. “At first I thoughtthere must be something wrong with thisidea, some known reason it wouldn’t work,otherwise people would be doing it.”

Self-portrait, Dec. 2009__________________________________

One day he overheard someone atschool talking about the freezing idea with agroup of people. “It became clear to me thatthere was no reason anyone could definitelypoint to for why it wouldn’t work. I realizedit was the logical choice to make, and I toldthe others right there that I was going to befrozen myself.” Because it seemed sorational to him, he was surprised when noone else in the group said they were consid-ering it. Mike spent many years after thisexperience asking himself if there wasanother rational way to overcome theproblem of death but kept coming back tothe idea of cryonics. “I didn’t have a sense ofurgency about it—I just thought vaguely thatI’d make the freezing arrangements in duecourse. Being as young as I was and in goodhealth I didn’t think I needed to takeimmediate action. Now I see that was amistake in more ways than one. You neverknow when you’ll need the services, even ifyou are healthy, people die in accidents, forinstance, plus there was a lot of the earlycryonics history I missed out on. Someonehas said to me that as far as that goes, Ididn’t miss much, but I’ve thought manytimes there might have been something Icould have done to avert some of thedisasters that happened that first decade,when so many patients were lost.” In 1977though, he was ready and did what anyoneof his persuasion should do – he madecryonics arrangements.

Mike went on to obtain an M.S. (1979)and Ph.D. (1984) in Computer Science fromthe University of Colorado. He recalls,“Back then there was great concern over theearly human freezings that had failed and

been abandoned. Alcor at this time waspromoting head-only freezing as a way tolower maintenance costs, plus had a policy ofinsisting on up-front payments for all cases,whether head-only or whole-body. Thishard-headed, rational approach was reas-suring, and in 1984, coincidentally, I movedto California where Alcor was based. So Ichanged my service provider to Alcor andsigned up with them as a head-only or neuro,an arrangement I still have today.”

Dr. Perry pursued a career in computersand returned briefly to Colorado, where hedid programming work. But in 1987 he leftColorado for Arizona, where he brieflyworked with the Society for Venturism, acryonics-promoting organization started theprevious year by David Pizer, that Mike hadjoined as one of the original directors.“Soon it developed that help was needed atAlcor, then located in Riverside, California,and I arrived there in May of ’87, thinkingperhaps I’d be there not too long beforefinding some sort of programming job.Alcor at that time had two people whosesalaries were being paid, Hugh Hixon andMike Darwin, and there was no provisionfor more. I served as a volunteer, withsupport from a generous benefactor, enoughfor basic needs.”

A few months after Mike arrived atAlcor, a crisis erupted when a member, DoraKent, arrested at the facility with nophysician present, prompting a coroner’sinvestigation. “After that I was needed, whileothers were away from the facility, as theyfrequently were, just to answer phones andkeep watch on things, since we didn’t knowwhat the authorities were planning to do.But the crisis was weathered, and Dora Kentand the other patients stayed frozen.Eventually Alcor won a legal victory thatestablished cryonics as a legitimate practice

in California, a precedent that has helped inother jurisdictions.” In 1989, with morefunding available, Mike went from volunteerto paid status. “My interest in cryonics led,a little unexpectedly, to this employment atAlcor after I had obtained a Ph.D. incomputer science and thought that fieldwould be my career. I have now beenworking at Alcor for 23 years, starting at age40, so cryonics has long been a way of life.”

Mike notes that his employment statusand responsibilities have evolved over time,though some things have remained the same.“I started out pretty much as the newly-installed patient caretaker, and have beenthat all along. When I arrived they had analarm system to warn if liquid nitrogenlevels were getting low, but were not doingdaily checks. That was an early responsibilityI had that continues today. Writing articlesfor the magazine and doing programmingwork as needed are activities that also havecontinued from early times. I used to be themain phone answerer; that has changed (andit’s a relief). More or less, I do what circum-stances call for that is within my domain ofexpertise, everything from helping withcooldowns to maintaining patient records,plus helping provide presence at the facilityfor security reasons.”

Such a long career in cryonics has givenDr. Perry plenty of time to think more abouteventualities. In particular, he began to thinkthat, given adequate technologies, informationcan eventually be used to resuscitate all thepeople who have ever lived. Sound fantastic?Dr. Perry agrees. But it’s not impossible, and hethinks it might even be occurring in alternateuniverses where parallel, similar efforts aretaking place. “As a last resort,” Dr. Perry spec-ulates, “you could restore a past individual whohad perished by guessing his/her brainstructure and using advanced technology torecreate that individual in physical form.


Mike’s parents, Neil and Mary Perry, wedding picture, Feb. 16, 1946.

______________________________________

Alaska, 1947. Father made crib.______________________________________

“More attention should be paid to the idea of low-cost alternatives to the expensive cryonics

procedures that are nowused, and which show signs of becoming even

more expensive and harder to afford.”

Despite the fantastic complexity of what you’dhave to guess and the unlikelihood that all thecountless but essential details would be correct,there is a nonzero chance, under the rules ofquantum physics, that you would come up withjust the right answer or close enough. Andsomewhere in a parallel world, someone likeyou doing what you were doing would get itexactly right, while you in turn would also get itexactly right for the one you are recreating,someone who actually lived.” Given thenascency of nanotechnology, however, and thecomplexities and uncertainties of the quantumapproach, Dr. Perry recommends a morestraightforward and practical option, such ascryonics, today.

Another eventuality that Dr. Perry hasgiven thought to is the future. In response tothose who are reluctant to make cryonicsarrangements because they fear the futurecould be worse than today, he reminds themthat “the world of the future will not just bethe sort that might be dreamed up by sciencefiction writers to catch the interest of today’sreading audience and generate someincome.” Instead, a world that would takethe time to resuscitate cryonics patients (orother preserved individuals) is likely to beone that is “sensitized to the problems somemay have in finding existence worthwhile,and should have advanced ways of helpingsuch people.”

To increase the probability of reachingthat future world, Dr. Perry stresses theimportance of what we can do now toimprove cryopreservation and care of Alcor

patients. “A starting point would be to workharder to encourage members to move closeto Alcor, to better facilitate their cryo-preservation when it comes, especially thosewho are getting older and have medicalproblems,” he suggests. He also stronglysupports technical research to improve capa-bilities in monitoring cryoprotection andcooldown processes, but thinks that thereshould also be research into ways of morequickly inhibiting deterioration after legaldeath, such as use of fixatives in combina-tion with cryoprotection and cooling. “Thisis controversial but it hasn’t been investi-gated as it should be,” he contends. “Moreattention should be paid to the idea of low-cost alternatives to the expensive cryonicsprocedures that are now used, and whichshow signs of becoming even moreexpensive and harder to afford.”

As his own contribution to this effort,Dr. Perry has obtained grant support for hisproject to analyze ischemic neural tissue.Describing the objectives of this work, heexplains, “Ideally, I’m trying to documentexactly what happens in brain tissue exposedto warm ischemia, construct a blow-by-blowaccount as it were. In addition, I am trying todevelop a method of quantitatively assessingthe condition of tissue exposed to warmischemia, to determine how much damagehas occurred and to better understand thesort of damage that occurs.”

While the feasibility of developingmethods and technologies for recordingcellular changes in ischemic tissue is of greatinterest to Dr. Perry, he acknowledges thatfunding available for such research is limited.So he approached the issue from the nextbest starting place – analyzing electronmicroscope (EM) images of individual brainslices exposed to different periods ofischemia. In doing so, he has had somesuccess in developing an algorithm that can,Dr. Perry says, “roughly estimate the amountof ischemic exposure for a given EM brain-slice image.” He points out that this ischemiawork is part of a larger project of his toassess the efficacy of various preservativetechniques on tissue samples, with emphasison finding lower-cost alternatives to present-day cryopreservation.

Dr. Perry’s research is practical, and is inperfect alignment with his overall philos-ophy and actions. After over 30 years incryonics and more than two decades at Alcorhe has been involved in the history andmaking of cryonics as a science, as amovement, and as a community. His obser-

vations and experiences have led him to theconclusion that the greatest challenge incryonics is not technical, social, political, oreconomic. Instead, Dr. Perry has deter-mined, “I think the greatest challenge maybe psychological – the level of determineddedication that will be necessary to see thatpeople are cryopreserved and stay that wayfor as long as will be necessary until, as Ithink, resuscitations can actually happen.”

Along the same theme, Dr. Perry stronglyencourages other cryonics sympathizers tomake and, importantly, to keep their cryonicsarrangements. “Your life is in serious dangereven if cryonics works, as I am reasonablyhopeful it will,” he warns. “Many people droptheir arrangements long before they wouldneed the service. Try to stay the course. Findreasons to do so, not just to benefit yourselfbut others and society at large. Learn to love thebig picture, and all the good that it stands for,and let that love carry you forward.” �

Dr. Perry’s writings relating tocryonics and immortalism are bestrepresented in his book, ForeverFor All, which can be purchased

or downloaded free (as ascii) by following the links at

www.universalimmortalism.org/books.htm.

On the next page is an excerpt from a revisededition, now in progress. ��


With Joker (a guard dog),Morocco, about 1960.

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With younger siblings and grandmother, about 1957.

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The individual ought to endure, for a life rightly lived is neverrightly ended. A final consummation and eternal oblivion areneither desirable, nor, I will argue, necessary—or evenpossible—given the nature of persons and of reality as awhole, for which modern philosophical thought and scientificresearch are providing some startling new insights. Personsare, in an important, informational sense, never eternally lost,and on this basis, can expect eventual resurrection andresumption of consciousness after death, albeit in settingspossibly far removed from what was previously known andfamiliar. “Quantum resurrection awaits all of us,” science pop-ularizer Clifford Pickover proclaims, echoing a growing bodyof scientific opinion.1 This optimistic conclusion follows irre-spective of our good or ill fortune or conduct in this earthlylife. The fabric of reality, with its endless throws of dice inshaping everything that is, and the prospect of recurringpatterns on arbitrarily large scales, appears to guarantee theeventual resurrection of all who have lived. We—our copiesor informational twins—must re-emerge to arguably continue“our” authentic existence, if all else fails. It is not necessarilytrue that all else will fail, however. Quantum resurrection, inthe sense of an accidental, “ultimately lucky” process withoutany conscious intervention from any source, may be amongthe least likely—and also least desirable—mechanisms for res-urrection to occur. Outcomes will in any case be influencedby our conduct here and now and in the future, as I willargue, and certain choices and courses of action are much tobe preferred over others.

Overall this is very good news. Death must not be seen as afinal eventuality, limiting the individual existence to a finiteamount of consciousness followed by eternal oblivion.Instead, additional, conscious life for each person whateverthe circumstance is always the ultimate prospect. Such aprospect at its most basic does not depend on supernatural ormystical phenomena, nor on radical extensions of accepted,tested physics, nor even on special, favorable properties ofour particular, visible universe that would have to hold inremote future times. Indeed, the universe could self-destruct,yet individuals must go on. Reality as a whole, jittery andunpredictable on small scales but constrained and steady onlarge scales, must produce recurrences of arbitrary magnitude,and this alone appears sufficient. Unlikely for the short termbut ultimately unavoidable occurrences will be significant ifmore usual avenues fail. The permanence of the individualwill follow from what I contend is all that is truly importantconcerning personal survival, invoking a point of view thatemphasizes information rather than material objects. Survivalafter catastrophe will take multiple forms, weighted by proba-bilities. Most important, it will also extend to cases in which arecreated replica with the same information is present but isnot the “original” object, if indeed the latter concept is mean-ingful in any absolute sense. (A good case can be made that itis not, as we shall see.)

Though the outlook as I have sketched it is optimistic overall,there are boundaries that apply when reliance on supernat-ural and paranormal effects is discounted, as I think is appro-priate and propose to do here. I do not think, for example,that prospects are realistic for presently contacting or beingvisited by those who have died, nor do I think such contactwas accomplished in the past, notwithstanding some famousclaims. With overwhelming probability resurrections of thedead—as constructs of a suitable sort—are only to beexpected in settings where knowledge and capabilities are faradvanced beyond our present levels. The possibility of sucheventual occurrences, and the overall hopeful outlook, cannevertheless inspire us as we confront life’s problems today.These problems in turn are best faced squarely and proac-tively, using the best approaches at hand, even if a favorableoutcome may eventually happen regardless. Thus the choiceof a good path in life is significant even when differing pathslead to the same, eventual goal.

We live in remarkable times, even if far greater accomplish-ments will be needed to realize the possibilities that appear toexist. Marvels abound and many more are coming. Scientificadvances should play an increasing role in shaping ourdestiny. Biological limitations will surely be transcended.Those who survive long enough or are born or made lateenough should have the means to greatly extend their lives ingood health. Those dying in the meantime can take advantageof preservative techniques which may permit their eventualreanimation, at a time when life-extending breakthroughs thatoccurred during their extended sleep can be applied. Life forthose who die without such preservation is a more difficultproblem, but a problem that reason and science can stillsurmount, as evidence carefully considered suggests.

For those now living I advocate a stance of proactive interven-tion as an end-of-life choice. Death is a process, not an event.While one can expect an ultimate benefit even with a passiveresponse this is not the best way to proceed. Instead advan-tages will be had by making arrangements for measures tocombat the destructive changes that follow after clinicaldeath. The best and most common choice of this nature iscryopreservation and indefinite storage of one’s remains atlow temperature, a practice known as cryonics. The rationaleis that eventually methods will be developed to resuscitate thepatient and cure any diseases or disabilities, including old age,thereby restoring a state of healthy, active life. Understandablythere is widespread skepticism. No human or other largeorganism has yet been revived from low-temperature preser-vation, and the aging process and many diseases currentlyresist all attempts at alleviation or cure. Moreover, the cost ofthe procedure is high—several times that of a conventionalfuneral with ground burial, for the least expensive options.The cryonics possibility nevertheless offers a new and differentapproach to the ages-old problem of death.

1 Pickover, Clifford A. A Beginner’s Guide to Immortality: Extraordinary People, Alien Brains, and Quantum Resurrection. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2007, 120.

Optimizing Eternity

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Readers may remember that at Alcor’s2007 conference Calvin Mercerspoke on the topic cryonics and religion,

friends or foes? with a basically “friendly” con-clusion: the two can and should have goodrelations; cryonics in particular needs thesupport of religious people as well as scien-tists and others. The volume here reviewed,which Mercer coedited, addresses the relatedproblem of whether radical life extension(RLE) would pose any difficulties for thereligious. The emphasis is on ways of over-coming aging and now-terminal diseases.(Cryonics is only peripherally mentioned,perhaps in hopes of getting more responsesto a less controversial if still “radical” topic.)Scholars from several of the major worldreligions, both Western and Eastern, weighin with their opinions on the prospects ofindefinite or even infinite life spans, andhow these prospects would impact theirvarious beliefs and traditions. Overall theresponses reflect a basic optimism about anyprospects of increasing human life span,however much or little it may be, togetherwith some caveats that relate to particulartraditions.

An early chapter by biomedical geron-tologist Aubrey de Grey establishes that,while RLE is not yet possible, at least it is anarguable prospect in the not-too-distantfuture, some decades from now if notsooner. Such an outcome would have no the-ological implications, he argues, for “it[would] not mean we [had] in any way madewhatever omnipotent beings there may beout there any less omnipotent.”

A powerful following chapter bybiotechnologist Pete Estep (Preston W.Estep III) considers RLE in a wider context.We are interested in a cure for aging, hemaintains, and indefinite life extension; butbeyond this, also life expansion. Indefinitelife extension could involve such possibilitiesas uploading—escaping entirely the fragilebody we now inhabit for something of ourown design that is more durable and in otherways better (chosen very carefully of course).Life expansion could take such forms ashaving many individuals inhabit one “body”which might be an advanced computer. Insome ways the whole could function as onebeing, yet individuals within could still

book review by Mike Perry

RELIGION AND THEIMPLICATIONS OFRADICAL LIFE EXTENSIONEdited by: Derek F. Maher and Calvin Mercer; Afterword by: Ted Peters[New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009]

“The accompanyingbenefit to human life—

removal of the “reproach”—is to occur here on earthrather than in some other,

otherworldly domain.”


maintain separate identities. Death in any case is a problem humanityhas all along wanted to solve, but, Estep warns, “many won’t be com-pletely satisfied with evidence-free claims about a spiritual afterlifeand [will instead] underscore the importance of the quest for moretangible solutions.” This does not mean Estep is negative toward allreligious sentiments. Instead he takes issue with certain religiouspeople on their own turf who try to argue for the desirability ofdeath as part of “God’s plan.” He notes that Isaiah 25:8 prophesiesa future time when God will have “swallowed up death forever”while in addition, “the reproach of his people shall he take awayfrom off all the earth.” Thus it is not merely the abolition of deaththat is foretold in this basic text of Judaism and Christianity. Theaccompanying benefit to human life—removal of the “reproach”—is to occur here on earth rather than in some other, otherworldlydomain.

The rest of the book is largely occupied with essays about RLEfrom different religious perspectives, the various contributors tryingto fit it into one traditional framework or another. RLE is generallyseen in positive terms, but not as something all-important or even,in some cases, desirable at all. Perhaps the most enthusiastic endorse-ment comes from Daoism, whose spokesperson (Livia Kohn)foresees complete vindication of the “age-old contestation thatdeath and aging are essentially avoidable.” Other religious authoritiesare concerned that RLE would weaken beliefs in the necessity ofdivine intervention to alleviate the burden of mortality, somethingimportant to their respective faiths (Christianity and Islam in partic-

ular). Reformed Protestant spokespersons Nigel M. de S. Cameronand Amy Michelle DeBates see a mixed blessing. “The irony, as willbe evident, of a Christian perspective on RLE is that while it is agood and proper thing to engage in the preservation of health andthe prolongation of life, the net effect for the individual believer willbe to put off the experience of death and, with it, the entry intoeternal life.” With similar caution a few others, notably from Easterntraditions such as Buddhism and Jainism, view death as an important“loosening of attachments” with the material world, somethingdesirable if one is to attain a state of ultimate reward and bliss, andsomething that RLE could hinder, despite the evident benefits.

It is clear that the major religions already have an ample store-house of beliefs and practices for addressing the psychologicalproblem of one’s mortality—they don’t “need” RLE. But theseapproaches are evidence-free (to use Estep’s terminology) and,except for believers, mythical and not to be taken literally. RLE inturn aims at an evidence-based approach to physically solving theproblem of mortality. RLE and accompanying technologies wouldalso bring very profound changes in the life of earthly intelligentbeings, raising questions of just what it means or should mean to behuman at all, something I think is glossed over and obscured by thetraditionalists. Yet at the same time the traditionalists seem open tothe possibility of viewing matters in a different light depending onthe options that actually become available. They are willing to waitand see where the course of research and development will lead,which certainly is better than open hostility. �

Derk F. Maher

Dr. Derek F.Maher isDirector of theReligiousStudies Programat East CarolinaUniversity and

teaches courses on Buddhism, Islam,methodology, and religion andviolence. He received his M.A. andPh.D. from the University of Virginia inthe History of Religions, with anemphasis on Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.

About the Editors

Calvin Mercer

Dr. Calvin Mercerteaches ReligiousStudies at EastCarolina University,where he recentlyreceived a “Scholar-Teacher” award and

is a director of the MultidisciplinaryStudies Program. Dr. Mercer hasorganized panels on religion and radicallife extension for annual meetings ofthe American Academy of Religion. Heis a founding member and first chair ofthe academy’s “Transhumanism andReligion” consultation.

Photo credits: Derek Maher at http://www.ecu.edu/religionprogram/maher/images/maher200_301.jpg

Calvin Mercer at http://www.ecu.edu/religionprogram/mercer/images/mercer174_255.jpg


On June 30, 2010, Alcor had 921members on its EmergencyResponsibility List. During the firstthree months of 2010, 6 member-ships were approved, no member-ships were reinstated, 5 member-ships were cancelled and 3members were cryopreserved.Overall, there was a net gain of 8members for the year of 2010 todate.

The chart on the left displays theyear-end monthly average net gainsince 2002.

Membership Statistics

Take a look at the ALCOR BLOGhttp://www.alcor.org/blog/

Your source for news about:

Cryonics technology

Cryopreservation cases

Television programs about cryonics

Speaking events and meetings

Employment opportunities


“Stress” Protein Could HaltAging Process, Say Scientists

Scientists in the UK and the U.S. have discov-ered that a protein which responds to stresscan halt the degeneration of muscle masscaused during the body’s aging process.HSP10 (Heat Shock Protein), helps monitorand organize protein interactions in the body,and responds to environmental stresses, suchas exercise and infection, by increasing itsproduction inside cells. Researchers atLiverpool, in collaboration with colleagues atthe University of California, found thatexcessive amounts of HSP10 inside mito-chondria – “organs” that act as energy gener-ators in cells – can halt the body’s agingprocess by preserving muscle strength. AnneMcArdle, from the University of Liverpool’sSchool of Clinical Sciences, said: “We studiedthe role of HSP10 inside mitochondria, as itis here that unstable chemicals are producedwhich can harm parts of the cell. The damagecaused by this is thought to play an importantpart in the aging process, in which skeletalmuscle becomes smaller and weaker andmore susceptible to stress damage. Inresponse to these stresses HSP10 increases itslevels and helps cells resist damage andrecover more effectively.”

ScienceDaily5/24/10

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100524101341.htm

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Stem-Cell Dental ImplantsGrow New Teeth Right in

Your Mouth

The loss of a tooth is a minor deformity anda major pain. Although dental implants areavailable, the healing process can takemonths on end, and implants that fail toalign with the ever-growing jawbone tend tofall out. If only adult teeth could be regener-ated, right? According to a study publishedin the latest Journal of Dental Research, anew tissue regeneration technique may allowpeople to simply regrow a new set of pearly

whites. Dr. Jeremy Mao, the Edward V.Zegarelli Professor of Dental Medicine atColumbia University Medical Center, hasunveiled a growth factor-infused, three-dimensional scaffold with the potential toregenerate an anatomically correct tooth injust nine weeks from implantation. By usinga procedure developed in the university’sTissue Engineering and RegenerativeMedicine Laboratory, Dr. Mao can direct thebody’s own stem cells toward the scaffold,which is made of natural materials. Once thestem cells have colonized the scaffold, atooth can grow in the socket and then mergewith the surrounding tissue. Dr. Mao’stechnique not only eliminates the need togrow teeth in a Petri dish, but it is the first toachieve regeneration of anatomically correctteeth by using the body’s own resources.

Popular Science5/25/10

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-05/new-technique-uses-bodys-stem-

cells-regenerate-teeth__________________________________

China Aims to BecomeSupercomputer Superpower

China is ramping up efforts to become theworld’s supercomputing superpower. ItsNebulae machine at the National SuperComputer Center in Shenzhen, was rankedsecond on the biannual Top 500 supercom-puter list. For the first time, a secondChinese supercomputer appears in the list ofthe top ten fastest machines. However, theUS still dominates the list with more thanhalf the Top 500, including the world’sfastest, known as Jaguar. This Craycomputer, which is owned by the Oak RidgeNational Laboratory in Tennessee, has a topspeed of 1.75 petaflops. (One petaflop =1,000 trillion calculations per second.) It isused by scientists conducting research inastrophysics, climate science and nuclearenergy. By comparison, China has 24machines in the list. Its fastest has a topspeed of 1.20 petaflops, more than doublethe speed of its previous top supercom-puter, and a theoretical top speed of nearly 3

petaflops, which would make it the fastest inthe world. Dawning, the company behindthe fastest Chinese machine, is reportedlybuilding an even faster machine for theNational Supercomputer Center in Tianjin.It is also developing home-grown siliconchips to power the behemoths.

BBC News5/31/10

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10181725.stm

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Harvard Spinoff PromisesGenome Sequencing for $30

The scramble to come up with a faster andcheaper way to sequence a genome just got acredible new contender which aims to do thejob for the bargain basement rate of $30.The first time scientists sequenced a humangenome, the price tag hit $3 billion. Thatprice point has quickly plunged to about$20,000, putting sequencing genomes for thepurposes of drug discovery work within thereach of biopharma companies. But thisnew company, a spinoff from HarvardUniversity dubbed GnuBio, says the trick tobringing sequencing within reach of mostpeople on the planet revolves around deci-phering fragments of DNA from dropletsstreaming through a tiny tube. John Boyce, aveteran of Helicos, has joined with Harvardphysics professor Dave Weitz and JessicaTonani, formerly of Affymetrix, to launchthe company. Initially, the company plans toship machines that can accomplish smallsequencing tasks before it launches newtechnology that can handle the fullsequencing task. The nonprofit IgniteInstitute and the Beaulieu-SaucierPharmacogenemics Centre from theUniversity of Montreal are first in line toreceive a machine at the end of this year.

FierceBiotech Research6/7/10

http://www.fiercebiotechresearch.com/story/harvard-spinoff-promises-genome-sequencing-30/2010-06-

07?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

Tech News R. Michael Perry, Ph.D.


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Protein Lets Brain RepairDamage from Multiple

Sclerosis, Other Disorders

A protein that helps build the brain ininfants and children may aid efforts torestore damage from multiple sclerosis (MS)and other neurodegenerative diseases,researchers at Washington University Schoolof Medicine in St. Louis have found. In amouse model of MS, researchers found thatthe protein, CXCR4, is essential for repairingmyelin, a protective sheath that covers nervecell branches. MS and other disordersdamage myelin, and this damage is linked toloss of the branches inside the myelin. “InMS patients, myelin repair occurs inconsis-tently for reasons that aren’t clear,” sayssenior author Robyn Klein, MD, PhD,associate professor of medicine and of neu-robiology. “Understanding the nature ofthat problem is a priority because whenmyelin isn’t repaired, the chances that an MSflare-up will inflict lasting harm seem toincrease.” The findings appear online in TheProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

ScienceDaily6/7/10


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Harnessing the Immune System’s Diagnostic Power

An inexpensive system for earlier diseasediagnosis could save innumerable lives. Itwould also have a profound impact on thenation’s healthcare industry, currentlybuckling under the strain of spiraling costs.Now Dr. Bart Legutki, a researcher at theBiodesign Institute at Arizona StateUniversity has pioneered a method forprofiling the immune system, using cluesprovided by antibody activity to track anindividual’s state of health. The work wasdone in collaboration with Dr. StephenAlbert Johnston, director of the Institute’sCenter for Innovations in Medicine. Thenew technique, known as immunosigna-turing, could provide rapid, pre-sympto-matic diagnosis for a broad range ofailments, from infectious diseases to chronicafflictions to varied forms of cancer,offering the best hope for successful

treatment. Immunosignaturing also showspotential as a low-cost alternative for vaccineevaluation, currently a lengthy and expensiveundertaking. As Legutki explains, theimmune system is exquisitely sensitive to anyalterations in an individual’s state of healthresulting from infection or disease, regis-tering these changes through subtle fluctua-tions in antibody activity.

ScienceDaily6/8/10


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Freezing “to Death” and Livingto Tell About It

How is it that some people who apparentlyfreeze to death, with no heart rate or respira-tion for extended periods, can be broughtback to life with no long-term negative healthconsequences? New findings from the labora-tory of cell biologist Mark B. Roth, Ph.D., ofFred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,may help explain the mechanics behind thiswidely documented phenomenon. Reportingonline ahead of the July 1 print issue ofMolecular Biology of the Cell, Roth, amember of the Hutchinson Center’s BasicSciences Division, and colleagues show thattwo widely divergent model organisms – yeastand nematodes, or garden worms – cansurvive hypothermia, or potentially lethalcold, if they are first put into a state ofsuspended animation by means of anoxia, orextreme oxygen deprivation. Roth and col-leagues found that under normal conditions,yeast and nematode embryos cannot surviveextreme cold. After 24 hours of exposure totemperatures just above freezing, 99 percentof the creatures expire. In contrast, if theorganisms are first deprived of oxygen andthus enter a state of anoxia-inducedsuspended animation, 66 percent of the yeastand 97 percent of the nematode embryos willsurvive the cold.

ScienceDaily6/11/10


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Tastes Like Chicken: The Quest for Fake Meat

This spring, scientists at the University ofMissouri announced that after more than adecade of research, they had created the firstsoy product that not only can be flavored totaste like chicken but also breaks apart inyour mouth the way chicken does: not toosoft, not too hard, but with that ineffablechew of real flesh. When you pull apart theMissouri invention, it disjoins the waychicken does, with a few random strands of“meat” hanging loosely. The vegetarianworld is buzzing about the breakthrough inMissouri. “Along with ham, chicken hasalways been the holy grail,” says SethTibbott, 59, the creator of Tofurky and thedean of soy-meat inventors. Tibbott’sOregon-based Turtle Island Foods hasbecome famous for its surprisingly full-flavored fake turkey. But Tibbott says effortsto create a credible fake chicken havefoundered because of chicken’s unique leantexture and its delicate flavor. (“Turkey has agamier flavor,” he says, “and it’s easier tomatch stronger flavors.”)

Time6/14/10

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1993883,00.html

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Highly Efficient Solar Cells Could Result from

Quantum Dot Research

Conventional solar cell efficiency could beincreased from the current limit of 30percent to more than 60 percent, suggestsnew research on semiconductor nanocrys-tals, or quantum dots, led by chemistXiaoyang Zhu at The University of Texas atAustin. Zhu and his colleagues report theirresults in this week’s Science. The scientistshave discovered a method to capture thehigher energy sunlight that is lost as heat inconventional solar cells. The maximum effi-ciency of the silicon solar cell in use today isabout 31 percent. That’s because much ofthe energy from sunlight hitting a solar cell istoo high to be turned into usable electricity.That energy, in the form of so-called “hotelectrons,” is lost as heat. If the higherenergy sunlight, or more specifically the hotelectrons, could be captured, solar-to-electricpower conversion efficiency could be


increased theoretically to as high as 66percent. “There are a few steps needed tocreate what I call this ‘ultimate solar cell,’”says Zhu. “First, the cooling rate of hotelectrons needs to be slowed down. Second,we need to be able to grab those hotelectrons and use them quickly before theylose all of their energy.” Zhu says that semi-conductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots,are promising for these purposes.

ScienceDaily6/18/10


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Silicon Chips to Enter World ofHigh Speed Optical Processing

Physicists at the University of Sydney havebrought silicon chips closer to performingall-optical computing and information pro-cessing that could overcome the speed limi-tations intrinsic to electronics, with the firstreport published of an on-chip all-opticaltemporal integrator in Nature CommunicationsJun. 20. An all-optical integrator, orlightwave capacitor, is a fundamentalbuilding block equivalent to those used inmulti-functional electronic circuits.Associate Professor David Moss leads aninternational team which has developed theoptical integrator on a CMOS compatiblesilicon chip. The device, a photonic chipcompatible with electronic technology(CMOS), will be a key enabler of next gen-eration fully-integrated ultrafast optical dataprocessing technologies for many applica-tions including ultra-fast optical informa-tion-processing, optical memory, measure-ment, computing systems, and real-time dif-ferential equation computing units. It isbased on a passive micro-ring resonator andperforms the time integral of an arbitraryoptical waveform with a time resolution of afew picoseconds, corresponding to a pro-cessing speed of around 200 GHz, and witha “hold” time approaching a nanosecond.

PhysOrg.com6/20/10

http://www.physorg.com/news196258264.html

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Genes Predict LivingBeyond 100

US scientists have developed a way of pre-dicting how likely a person is to live beyondthe age of 100. The breakthrough, describedin the journal Science, is based on 150genetic “signposts” found in exceptionallylong-lived people. The Boston team createda mathematical model, which takes informa-tion from these signposts to work out aperson’s chance of reaching 100. It is basedon the largest study of centenarians in theworld. This is a rare trait—only one in 6,000people in industrialized countries reachessuch a ripe old age. And 90% of them arestill disability free by the age of 93. Theresearchers now think they have cracked thegenetic secret of this longevity. The teamoriginally embarked on their study in 1995.Since then, they have scanned the genomesof 1,000 centenarians. They identifiedgenetic markers that are “most different”between centenarians and randomly selectedindividuals. The research was led by PaolaSebastiani, a professor of biostatistics atBoston University, and Thomas Perls,associate professor of medicine, also atBoston University. “We tested our model inan independent set of centenarians andachieved an accuracy of 77%,” explainedProfessor Sebastiani.

BBC News7/1/10

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10475018.stm

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“Climategate” Debunking Is (Or Should Be) Major News

There is more than a degree of poetic justicein the release of two reports exonerating the“Climategate” scientists during this brutalheat wave—especially because so many ofthe broadcasters and journalists who popu-larized the bogus scandal are trying to staycool in stifling New York and Washington.The rest of us suffer along with them, alas,so at the very least they ought to devote asmuch attention to the debunking as they didto the original accusations. By restoring thereputation of the U.N.’s IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change, the reportsreleased by a Netherlands environmentalagency and a special British investigativepanel should do much to dispel the wide-

spread doubt generated by hackers whopinched nasty e-mails from the computers ofclimate scientists associated with the IPCC.Or the reports would dispel doubt, if onlythe mainstream media showed sufficientinterest in correcting the record. For whatthe probers found is that those embarrassinge-mails, considered in context, underminedneither the basic integrity of the scientistswho authored them nor their dire conclu-sions about the potential impact of carbondioxide pollution.

Salon.com7/8/10

http://www.salon.com/news/global_warming/index.html?story=/

opinion/conason/2010/07/08/climate__________________________________

Nanoparticles Shrink Tumors in Mice

In cancer research, nanotechnology holds greatpromise for the development of targeted,localized delivery of anticancer drugs, in whichonly cancer cells are affected. Such targeted-therapy methods would represent a majoradvance over current chemotherapy, in whichanticancer drugs are distributed throughout thebody, attacking healthy cells along with cancercells and causing a number of adverse sideeffects. By carrying out comprehensive studieson mice with human tumors, UCLA scientistshave obtained results that move the researchone step closer to this goal. In a paperpublished July 8 in the journal Small,researchers at UCLA’s California NanoSystemsInstitute and Jonsson Comprehensive CancerCenter demonstrate that mesoporous silicananoparticles (MSNs), tiny particles withthousands of pores, can store and deliverchemotherapeutic drugs in vivo and effectivelysuppress tumors in mice. The researchers alsoshowed that MSNs accumulate almost exclu-sively in tumors after administration and thatthe nanoparticles are excreted from the bodyafter they have delivered their chemothera-peutic drugs. The study was conducted jointlyin the laboratories of UCLA professors FuyuTamanoi and Jeffrey Zink.

ScienceDaily7/11/10


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ARIZONA

Scottsdale:This group meets the third Friday of eachmonth and gatherings are hosted at a homenear Alcor. To RSVP, visit http://cryonics.meetup.com/45/.

At Alcor:Alcor Board of Directors Meetings andFacility Tours – Alcor business meetingsare generally held on the first Saturday ofevery month starting at 11:00 AM MST.Guests are welcome. Facility tours are heldevery Tuesday and Friday at 2:00 PM. Formore information or to schedule a tour,call D’Bora Tarrant at (877) 462-5267 x101 or email [email protected].

CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles:Alcor Southern California Meetings—For information, call Peter Voss at(310) 822-4533 or e-mail him [email protected]. Although monthlymeetings are not held regularly, you canmeet Los Angeles Alcor members by contacting Peter.

San Francisco Bay:Alcor Northern California Meetings areheld quarterly in January, April, July, andOctober. A CryoFeast is held once a year.For information on Northern Californiameetings, call Mark Galeck at (408) 245-4928or email [email protected].

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Life Extension Society, Inc. is acryonics and life extension group withmembers from Washington, D.C.,Virginia, and Maryland. Meetings areheld monthly. Contact Secretary KeithLynch at [email protected]. Forinformation on LES, see our web site atwww.keithlynch.net/les.

FLORIDA

Central Florida Life Extension group meetsonce a month in the Tampa Bay area(Tampa and St. Petersburg) for discussionand socializing. The group has been activesince 2007. [email protected] for more infor-mation.

NEW ENGLAND

Cambridge:The New England regional group strives tomeet monthly in Cambridge, MA – forinformation or to be added to the AlcorNE mailing list, please contact Bret Kulakovich at 617-824-8982,[email protected], or onFACEBOOK via the Cryonics SpecialInterest Group.

OREGON

Portland:Cryonics Oregon holds regular meetingsevery 2-3 months for members ofcryonics organizations living in Portlandand the surrounding areas. For informa-

tion, please contact Chana de Wolf [email protected] or (503) 756-0864. http://www.cryonicsoregon.com/

A Yahoo group is also maintained for cryonics activities in the Pacific Northwestat http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/CryonicsNW/.

ALCOR PORTUGAL

Alcor Portugal is working to have goodstabilization and transport capabilities. Thegroup meets every Saturday for two hours.For information about meetings, contactNuno Martins at [email protected]. The Alcor Portugal websiteis: www.alcorportugal.com.

TEXAS

Dallas:North Texas Cryonauts, please sign up forour announcements list for meetings(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cryonauts-announce) or contact DavidWallace Croft at (214) 636-3790 for detailsof upcoming meetings.

Austin/Central Texas:We meet at least quarterly for training,transport kit updates, and discussion. For information: Steve Jackson, 512-447-7866,[email protected].

UNITED KINGDOM

There is an Alcor chapter in England.For information about meetings, contactAlan Sinclair at [email protected] the web site at www.alcor-uk.org.


About the Alcor FoundationThe Alcor Life Extension Foundation is a nonprofit tax-exempt scientific and edu-cational organization dedicated to advancing the science of cryopreservation andpromoting cryonics as a rational option. Being an Alcor member means knowingthat—should the worst happen—Alcor’s Emergency Response Team is ready torespond for you, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Alcor’s Emergency Response capability includes specially trained technicians andcustomized equipment in Arizona, northern California, southern California, andsouth Florida, as well as many additional certified technicians on-call around theUnited States. Alcor’s Arizona facility includes a full-time staff, and the Patient CareBay is personally monitored 24 hours a day.

Meetings

If you are interested in hosting regularmeetings in your area, contact Alcor at877-462-5267 ext. 113. Meetings are agreat way to learn about cryonics, meetothers with similar interests,andintroduce your friends and family toAlcor members!

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4th quarter 2009 • Volume 30:4

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1st quarter 2010 • Volume 31:1

Read This if you want to livepage 7

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2nd quarter 2010 • Volume 31:2

Death of Robert PrehodaPage 7

Member Profile:Mark Pluspage 8

Non-existence is Hard to Do page 14

funding YourCryopreservationpage 3

FREE CRYONICSTRIAL SUBSCRIPTION

www.alcor.orgCryonics/Third Quarter 201024

What is Cryonics?

How do I find out more?

How do I enroll?

Cryonics is an attempt to preserve and protect human life, not reverse death. It is the practice of usingextreme cold to attempt to preserve the life of a person who can no longer be supported by today’s

medicine. Will future medicine, including mature nanotechnology, have the ability to heal at the cellularand molecular levels? Can cryonics successfully carry the cryopreserved person forward through time,for however many decades or centuries might be necessary, until the cryopreservation process can bereversed and the person restored to full health? While cryonics may sound like science fiction, there is abasis for it in real science. The complete scientific story of cryonics is seldom told in media reports,leaving cryonics widely misunderstood. We invite you to reach your own conclusions.

The Alcor Life Extension Foundation is the world leader in cryonics research and technology. Alcoris a non-profit organization located in Scottsdale, Arizona, founded in 1972. Our website is one of

the best sources of detailed introductory information about Alcor and cryopreservation (www.alcor.org).We also invite you to request our FREE information package on the “Free Information” section of ourwebsite. It includes:

• A fully illustrated color brochure

• A sample of our magazine

• An application for membership and brochure explaining how to join

• And more!

Your free package should arrive in 1-2 weeks.

(The complete package will be sent free in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.)

Signing up for a cryopreservation is easy!

Step 1: Fill out an application and submit it with your $150 application fee.Step 2: You will then be sent a set of contracts to review and sign.Step 3: Fund your cryopreservation. While most people use life insurance to

fund their cryopreservation, other forms of prepayment are alsoaccepted. Alcor’s Membership Coordinator can provide you with alist of insurance agents familiar with satisfying Alcor’s currentfunding requirements.

Finally: After enrolling, you will wear emergency alert tags or carry a specialcard in your wallet. This is your confirmation that Alcor will respondimmediately to an emergency call on your behalf.

Call toll-free today to start your application:

877-462-5267 ext. 132 [email protected]

Cryonics Magazine 2010-3

Documents

Transcript of Cryonics Magazine 2010-3