CRYONICS - THE SCIENCE OF IMMORTAL LIFE

The word cryonics is invented by Karl Werner in 1965 in connection with the creation of the Cryonics Society of New York. Cryo is a Greek root meaning "cold". Cryonics is the preservation of legally dead humans or pets at very low temperature (below −200ºF, −130ºC) in the hope that future science can restore them to life, youth and health. Cryonicists are people who use or advocate cryonics to greatly extending life and youth. Legally, cryonics can only be applied to a person who has been pronounced dead by an authorized health professional. But the criterion for death is nearly always the cessation of heart beat. Almost all cells of the body, including those in the brain are still alive when death is pronounced. The main damage within the first hour is due to clotting and blood vessel injury. It usually takes many hours for all cells to die at room temperature, including those in the brain.

 Cryonicists, however, do not want to wait hours or days before attempting to slow tissue degradation. Cooling and, if possible, cardiopulmonary support (like CPR, but without intention to resuscitate), should be begun immediately or very soon following pronouncement of death. If all of the tissues in the body can be preserved close to the condition they were in immediately following cessation of heartbeat, deterioration is minimized. No one knows how much deterioration can happen after the heart stops before there is no hope of future life, youth and health. Cryonicists make best efforts to minimize tissue deterioration to maximize the future potential for life. For this reason, cryonicists refer to people who have been cryopreserved as patients, rather than as corpses. Cryonics is regarded as a heroic form of medicine, not as a means of processing the dead. Just because cryonics preserves people at very low temperatures does not mean that cryonics patients have been frozen. Freezing involves the formation of ice, which can be very damaging to body tissues. Cryonics procedures involve replacing body water with anti-freeze mixtures called "cryoprotectants". By perfusing these biologic anti-freezes through blood vessels for a few hours most body water can be removed and replaced by cryoprotectant. At very low temperatures these cryoprotectants harden like glass, without forming damaging ice crystals. This glass formation is known as vitrification. Vitrification is an important part of the efforts of cryonicists to preserve people and pets in the best possible condition to maximize the chance of future youthful life.

As an extra measure of protection the heads of whole body patients are placed in the lowest-most position so that in the worst case of liquid nitrogen boil-off the head would be the last part of the body to thaw. Cryonics patients are typically stored in liquid nitrogen "thermos bottles" (Dewars or cryostats)

 A neuro (sometimes called "neurosuspension") is a cryonics patient for whom only the head − rather than the whole body − has been cryopreserved. If future technology can repair freezing damage and regenerate or re-create organs and tissues, it should not be difficult to create skin, bones, and all the organs and tissues needed for a new body − provided the brain has been preserved The brain is easier to vitrify than whole body as its more easier in preservation, transportation and more economical

Organizations

 There are several organizations world wide where this cryopreservation is accomplished

1. Alcor Life Extension Foundation Scottsdale, Arizona

2. American Cryonics Society (ACS) Cupertino, California

 3. Trans Time, Incorporated Oakland, California

 Alcor and the Cryonics Institute (CI) are fully-equipped with their own cryopreservation facilities. More than three-quarters of Alcor patients are neuros, whereas CI offers no neuro service. It costs no less than US$28,000 and rarely more than US$200,000, depending on the cryonics organization, the type of cryopreservation (neuro/whole body and the procedures used) Dr. James Bedford, a 73-year-old California psychology Professor, was cryopreserved on January 12, 1967 and is still being held in cryostorage (at Alcor) Approximately one thousand, most of the people having made arrangements with Alcor. The American Cryonics Society does not reveal the number of members it has with cryopreservation arrangements. As of 2006 there are about a hundred and fifty people in cryonics storage − all in the United state. Most are approximately evenly split between Alcor and the Cryonics Institute, but one or two are with Trans Time .The major disadvantage of CRYONICS is that cryonists cannot give assurance that this process will work out. If this would work out also, it would very difficult for a common man to be cryopreserved. .

 Many outstanding scientists have made false predictions about future technology. In 1885 Lord Kelvin declared that "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." A couple of decades ago nearly all scientists believed that cloning was impossible. Conversely, cryonicists cannot guarantee that cryonics will work. Only the future will tell whether the predictions of cryonicists are correct. This is a controversy topic still research is going on. So, let us all hope that ‘CRYONICS’ will come into existence in near future .