X-Message-Number: 21608 From: "aschwin de wolf" <> Subject: Freezing your body at death Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 23:06:28 -0400 http://www.easttexasreview.com/story.htm?StoryID=616 Freezing your body at death by Jim Russell We have all heard the stories of the family feud over baseball legend Ted Williams and his reported request to be frozen at the time of his death. He is now suspended upside down in a vat of liquid nitrogen at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale Arizona. 11 other full frozen humans, 37 frozen human heads and a few miscellaneous frozen pets accompany him. If you would like to spend the next 30 years with Ted, you too can be frozen for 30 years for $120,000. If that's too steep for your budget, they will remove your head and freeze just it for the bargain price of just $50,000. The theory is that if they can undo what did you in, they probably can build you a new body or find you a donor body. Once you pay your dues and sign up, you will be issued a silver medical bracelet with Alcor's toll free number to call if you are found dead. Obviously, time is of the essence and Alcor hopes that circumstances allow them to be at your bedside when you die in a hospital environment. The first thing they do is pump all of your blood out and replace it with anti-freeze (called cryoprotectant). Next they drill a hole in your head to reduce the size of your brain. Your body is now frozen to 390 degrees below zero, placed in a pod and lowered headfirst into a tank. Your contract specifies that, in the event of an accidental thaw, Alcor can remove your head and dispose of your thawed body. Every effort to keep your head frozen will be made. Things can happen. The founder of the Cryonics Society, Robert Nelson began freezing people in 1966. In what became known as the "Chatsworth Incident", Nelson went broke and allowed his clients to thaw in their underground crypt in Chatsworth, California. Police investigations and lawsuits followed. Alcor has had to battle this bad publicity for years. Can it work? Even the people at Alcor are realistic about the prospect. Michael Sherman, PhD wrote an article for Scientific American. He equated your brain on cryonics to mushy, thawed strawberries. "Even if they find a way to repair the cellular damage, no one has any clue how to restart the motor." There are many different layers of cells in a human body and freezing them all at the same time and at the same rate is impossible. Many believe the damage caused by the freezing may prove impossible to repair. The idea is intriguing though, isn't it? I am surprised that drowning victims pulled from the bottom of frozen ponds after 45 minutes can be revived. Frozen embryos are thawed successfully after years of storage. Still, I think it will take the power of a higher being to make Ted Williams and his 48 friends in Scottsdale go a few extra innings. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=21608