X-Message-Number: 22760 Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 11:51:54 -0500 (EST) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: Cryonics organization case reports Eugen Leitl asks for detailed case reports. While I was managing cases for Alcor I got into the habit of writing a summary while each case was going on, because there would always be a waiting period during the last part of the patient's transport, and I would be maintaining my vigil by the Alcor phone, with nothing much to do. There would be another waiting period, without a lot happening, near the end of the perfusion ramp. Also I knew that if I didn't write a report then, probably I wouldn't write it later. The organization was averaging about 1 case every 3 to 4 weeks, which didn't allow much time for reflection, as everyone was more concerned with getting ready for the next one, and I had my own agenda of problems that needed to be fixed and improvements that I wanted to see. Consequently my cases received a prompt, but skimpy description in Alcor News, and that was all. This was my unsatisfactory solution to a problem that has been significant for several years. When the committee to evaluate Alcor procedures was asked to write its study two years ago (in which I participated), we asked about case reports and Dr. Jerry Lemler said that he was not willing or able to write any more of them. (He was making a transition from team leader to CEO, with a different set of responsibilities.) I don't think David Shipman wrote any during his brief tenure, and I don't think Mike Darwin or anyone at Suspended Animation wrote any regarding the three cases (four if you count the CI case they did in Florida) that SA was involved in. So I would say everyone has to plead guilty in this area, with the exception of Ben Best, who changed an age-old CI no-comment policy and wrote a fairly comprehensive report on the first CI case in which he participated. I have heard that in 2004, a longtime Alcor benefactor may offer a substantial fee to anyone (suitably qualified) who writes up some of the Alcor cases that remain largely undocumented at this time. This could improve the situation substantially. It's a mistake to make a direct comparison between the lack of case reports now, and the elaborate reports that Mike Darwin used to write. First, he derived satisfaction, I think, from writing those reports; to everyone else, it is a very unwelcome chore. So, there is a psychological factor. And second, there was much less to do in those days. CryoCare, for instance, had only two cases in six years! In the Gallagher case, preparations began more than a month in advance, and the writeup took a full month afterward. I remember this very well since I collaborated in the presentation, which included numerous graphics and tables that had to be properly formatted. It was irritating work, and there was a lot of it. Putting together reports on this scale, for 8 or 10 cases a year, would be a halftime job. --CP Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=22760