X-Message-Number: 12185
From: "John de Rivaz" <>
References: <>
Subject: Re: comments on dispensable brain areas, and others 
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 10:07:16 +0100

One for  the lawyers who read cryonet:

How was this 15 year old murder victim murdered? Was her head damaged in the
murder or by a pathologist?

If it is the latter case and if the brain is eventually revived with less
success than would have been achieved without the pathologists'
intervention, who is the real murderer? Although the pathologist will
probably have died before the postulated revival, he would have been an
employee of institutions which could still exist or have identifiable
"successors or assigns". If the patient can show that there is some evidence
available at the time that cryopreservation could work (similar to the
affidavits that have been sworn in later cases), then if money is still
being used could substantial damages be obtained?

Supposing a similar event occurred today, where there is much more
scientific credence for cryopreservation, and supposing also that the
pathologist was a young man at the time of his "examination" of the cryo
patient and he was still alive when the sub-optimal revival took place?
Given that a revival had taken place, the pathologist may be expecting an
indeterminate lifespan (i.e. no ageing) and he would be faced with a very
angry victim who had lost much of her memories or personality. The trend now
is for government employees to take personal responsibility for their
actions however much under orders - this trend is likely to continue.

--
Sincerely, John de Rivaz
my homepage links to Longevity Report, Fractal Report, my singles club for
people in Cornwall, music, Inventors' report, an autobio and various other
projects:       http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JohndeR


----- Original Message ----- > Message #12176
> From: Thomas Donaldson <>
> The only cases in which brains have been preserved for
> cryonics while not preserving the head have been cases in which the brain
> was already damaged so much that it could not even be perfused with
> cryoprotectants in the first place. TransTime, for instance, did that
> with the brain of a 15 year-old murder victim.
>

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