X-Message-Number: 11701
From: 
Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 14:46:11 EDT
Subject: issues in cryonics

The responses to Darwin's recent post indicate a need for further 
clarification of issues in cryonics. In no particular order, and without any 
careful organization or polish, let me make several comments.

1. Perhaps I shouldn't reveal irritation, but it ill behooves most critics to 
complain about shortcomings of cryonics organizations, even when the 
shortcomings are real.  All of the organizations have very limited resources, 
and their leaders do the best they can under difficult circumstances, and 
many of them have donated many man-years (person-years) of effort. If you can 
do better--then DO IT, or help us do it. 

This doesn't mean that suggestions or criticisms are unwelcome. Doug 
Skrecky's frequent informational posts, for example, are helpful. But some 
people seem to perceive there to be "we" (members generally) and "they" (the 
leaders or the organization in the abstract). Such people may even think of 
themselves as "customers" with the right to pay some paltry fee and then 
criticize management if "they" fall short of some standard, realistic or 
otherwise.

Even the organizations that pro forma are organized for profit (or mixed 
profit and nonprofit, as the CryoCare group), and do indeed have a separation 
between customers and vendors, in practice so far have not behaved, and 
cannot behave, in the ordinary commercial spirit; instead, their leaders, 
just like those of the nonprofit organizations, have had to donate tremendous 
amounts of unpaid effort to accomplish whatever they have done.     

Basically, anyone dissatisfied with existing organizations has two main 
options. One is to work with his own organization and try to help it improve 
by donating work or/and money, as well as by making reasonable suggestions. 
The other is to try to form a new organization--rotsa ruck.

2. All existing organizations are led by relatively unqualified people, i.e. 
people who are not of the first rank in wealth or influence or standing of 
any kind. Starting in the mid-thirties, I waited almost thirty years before 
doing anything much to get cryonics
started, because obviously I was not in any respect well qualified to launch 
such a movement, potentially one of major importance to humanity and every 
living person. But none of the big brains or big wheels did anything, so I 
did what I could, which maybe wasn't much, but it was something. 

With the help of some other nonentities I did get the movement started. 
Organizations formed, both educational organizations such as the Immortalist 
Society, and service organizations such as Trans Time. After a while, when 
some of us were not satisfied with the existing service organizations, we 
formed Cryonics Institute. 

We had no grandiose plans for CI. We just wanted something in place to secure 
a realistic chance for ourselves and our families and friends. The main 
emphasis was on reliability and stability--after all, if you can't get people 
frozen because the cost is too high or the techniques out of reach, or if you 
cannot then keep them frozen because the organization goes broke, then the 
method or quality of freezing will be irrelevant. 

We always aimed to provide the best procedures within our resources, and 
still do, and our resources are improving. We do not believe anyone is 
presently delivering anything demonstrably and materially superior 
overall--for detailed discussion, please see our web site.

We have achieved our initial objective. Cryonics Institute is now stable and 
reliable--more so, we think, than any other organization. It is also growing 
faster than any other organization, based on published reports. 

We have no illusions about perfection or even excellence, relative to the 
potential. We have long lists of projects and improvements in all areas, from 
simple administration to basic research. We do our best to prioritize 
appropriately, and do frequent reviews to catch errors and reveal 
opportunities. We get help from some of our members and from people in other 
cryonics organizations, and we will make whatever ongoing changes or 
improvements seem warranted.

3. Now for some specifics in the current situation. 

21CM, financed by Kent & Faloon et al, has poured millions into research, far 
beyond the resources of any cryonics organization. They claim impressive 
recent advances, including new types of cryoprotectant and ice blockers. 
Details have not been provided because of patent considerations. At some 
point, this information will be available, and CI will make this technology 
available to its members through one or more of several mechanisms:

a) If feasible, we will provide such services directly to those members who 
want it and can afford it. (It is almost certain to be much more expensive 
than our minimum suspension fee of $28,000; and we may have to pay licensing 
fees.)

b) If BioTransport ever materializes as a functioning company, and if it has 
such methods ready and offers contractual relations with CI, this connection 
could be made.

c) CI already has working agreements with American Cryonics Society and 
TransTime, whereby CI members may, if they wish, choose initial preparation 
by ACS (or an ACS subcontractor), or by TT, followed by storage at CI (almost 
certainly at an overall savings). 

4. I remind readers again that IDEAL suspension requires several things. One 
is that the time of death be known in advance rather accurately.  Another is 
that the patient be at the site of the facility before death. A third is that 
the type and circumstances of death be such that medical/legal authorities 
permit immediate implementation of the suspension protocol upon clinical 
death. To get all of these things at once will very rarely happen any time in 
the foreseeable future, and therefore preparations must be made for less than 
ideal situations. 

In particular, the usefulness of traveling teams seems severely limited,  
because of the long delays involved. Reliance on local volunteers also is 
very chancy, as experience shows. We think that, generally, members at a 
distance are better served by having local funeral directors trained and 
equipped,with training and equipment and supplies upgraded as feasible. 
Cryonics, like politics, is the art of the possible.

5. Although priorities can and should be debated within organizations, it 
makes little sense for some organizations or factions to attempt to impose 
their views on others--for example, to insist that research is the be-all and 
end-all and that recruitment and public relations should take a back seat. 
Probably everything should be done at once, more or less--but in any event, 
people will do what they are motivated and equipped to do, and something is 
better than nothing. 

Finally, I suggest again that those who are undecided about a choice of 
organization, or who want to get a clearer vision before jumping into a 
debate, should read the web sites of all the organizations, and do it very 
carefully and completely. (Depending on your background and available time, 
to do it properly will take at least several weeks and more likely several 
months.) Then make your choice, join, and PITCH IN.

Robert Ettinger
Cryonics Institute
Immortalist Society
http://www.cryonics.org

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