X-Message-Number: 260
>From CompuServe.COM!72320.1642 Thu Dec 13 01:26:12 EST 1990 remote from att
Date: 13 Dec 90 00:47:39 EST
From: Steve Bridge <>
To: KEVIN <>
Subject: Brief Alcor update
Message-Id: <"901213054738 72320.1642 EHI79-1"@CompuServe.COM>

TO: Kevin

     Some changes in duties at Alcor:  Arthur McCombs is no longer 
in charge of membership services and sign-ups; he will be doing other 
internal organization tasks.  The new membership administrator is Ralph
Whelan, who is also the new editor of Cryonics Magazine.  There are so
many tasks to do at Alcor that some major reorganization was inevitable.

     We had developed quite a backlog of people trying to get signed up, 
so some other changes have also taken place.  The local coordinators (like 
me) are trying to handle more of the sign-up procedure.  So far, that seems 
to be working.  If you have sent in your sign-up fee but haven't heard from 
anyone, please let me know.

     Also, since the court ruling that the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act was
the legal mechanism for conveying the Patient to Alcor, we have dropped 
several of the more cumbersome documents, including the will ("Testamentary 
Directions").  If you have delayed signing up because of the mounds of
paper, you may be surprised at the lessened load.  More paperwork changes
will come in the next few weeks as we sift through the contract and other
documents for revision. 

     Don't forget:  Alcor's current minimum suspension fund requirements
of $100,000 for whole body suspension and $35,000 for neuropreservation are
only good for people who send in their $300.00 sign-up fee before December
31, 1990.  (The paperwork does not have to be finished by that date.)  For
anyone beginning the sign-up process after the first day of 1991, the
minimums will go up to $120,000 for whole body and $41,000 for neuro.  It 
is also possible that the sign-up charge will be raised sometime after the
first of the year, although that is far from sure.

     Please Note:  A recent decision: If you sign-up for neuro at the 
$35,000 rate and then next year decide you can afford the increase to 
whole-body, you still retain the privilege of switching to the $100,000 
rate instead of the new higher minimum.  This is also true for anyone 
already signed up with Alcor or even for someone who wants to switch from
whole body to neuro.

     Full-time students may sign-up for only $150.00.  The annual
Emergency Response Fee (currently $252.00 a year) is also halved for as
long as a person remains a full-time student.  Another bargain: signing up 
more than one person in the same family (spouse or dependents, not your 
third cousin in Delaware) gives those extra members half-price on sign-up 
fees and Emergency Response Fee.  Required suspension fund minimums are 
NOT halved for anyone.

     There is no decision from the state of California yet on whether or not
they plan to appeal the recent decision forcing them to cooperate with
Alcor and other cryonics groups.  They only have a few days left to
decide.  If they don't appeal, they MUST cooperate or face contempt of
court charges.

     The Donaldson case is in some technical proceedings, asking the 
initial judge to reconsider.  He will, no doubt, turn the plea down again,
so we can get on with the appeal to the State Appellate Court.  We still
need a LOT of money for legal fees on this case.  A success here could do
us ALL a lot of good someday.

Steve Bridge, Alcor Midwest Coordinator

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=260