X-Message-Number: 4902
Date: 22 Sep 1995 06:32:56 U
From: "Norton, Brook" <>
Subject: cheap straight freezes

Regarding the recent comments on cheap straight freeze neuros for $10K.... 
Perhaps 10k isn't enough to be profitable, but I should think a straight freeze
would be significantly less expensive than the washout procedure.  I'd
personally be interested in a straight freeze option for either neuro or whole
body at significantly lower prices.

2 important aspects of a suspension are 1) that the brain structure information
be preserved as well as possible and 2) that we give the patient whatever
advantages we can to ensure as early a reanimation as possible, to minimize the
risk of destruction while waiting in the vulnerable, frozen state.

Regarding information preservation:  Seems to me that a straight freeze
preserves as much information as a suspension with cryoprotectant perfusion. 
The straight freeze will sustain more damage, but the info is still there.  For
example, consider submerging a bottle in a gallon container of water and then
freezing the whole thing.  If the bottle has only one crack, then the damage is
minor, but if it sustains 100 cracks, then the damage is great.  However, in
either case, since the glass parts are held in place by the surounding ice, the
information as to what the bottle should look like in an undamaged condition
can be inferred, regardless of the number of cracks, and so information is not
lost (just stored in a different format).  But whether the suspension is a
straight freeze or one with cryoprotectant, time is of the essence.  The sooner
the cooling begins, the less info is lost due to high temp chemical reactions
in the brain tissue.  Therefore, I still greatly value the option of having a
suspension team working for me.  I would like to have the peace of mind knowing
that someone who is dedicated and knows what she's doing will be there as soon
as I deanimate.  And a suspension team for a straight freeze could be just 2
people, I would guess, and with very little equipment, and thus a less
expensive operation.

Regarding a quick reanimation...  It seems as though this is the best arguement
for doing a full-blown cryoprotectant suspension.  Since damage is less,
presumeably the reanimation can occur sooner (and so lessen the odds of being
destroyed while in the vulnerable frozen state).  But I think there is a good
arguement for the case that any technology capable of reanimating, and
restoring to youth a patient suspended with cryoprotectant, that that same
technology could also reanimate a straight freeze patient, or at least be able
to with only relatively minor advances in the technology.  It is similar to the
arguement for going neuro... that any technology capable of reanimating and
restoring to youth a whole body patient, could just as easily clone a body for
the neuro patient.  It is not a certainty that a straight freeze could be
reanimated nearly as soon as a full suspension, and so a full suspension makes
sense for those who can afford it.  But the reasonable expectation that a
straight freeze could be reanimated in the same time frame as a full-suspension
patient, makes this an attractive and sound option for those on a tight budget.

Brook Norton


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