X-Message-Number: 9850 Date: Wed, 03 Jun 1998 11:40:53 +0100 From: (John de Rivaz) Subject: Re: Cost of Reanimation With regards to estimating the cost of reanimation, I wonder if it would be productive to see if the cost to patients any medical procedure actually falls. A common operation that has probably changed very little is an appendectomy. Do any medical people on this list know how the cost of this has changed over the decades? There must be advances in technology that have made an appendectomy easier, safer and quicker. A shorter stay in hospital would be a substantial cost saver. However fees to the surgeon, anaesthetist etc as well as the hospital fees per day have probably risen at a high multiple of general inflation costs. Also the proportion of the costs being taken by the regulatory machinery and associated professionals will have risen quite substantially. Anyone any ideas as to the actual figures? Of course if reanimation is simply a "magical" process of sprinking some nano powder on a frozen body and stepping back and watching, then speculation about appendectomies is irrelevant. The cost of such a "magical" process can be equated with the cost of computers and digital watches. However as many people have said mixing nanotechnology speculation with magic and wishful thinking is unlikely to produce a result that has anything to do with reality. Incidentally, I don't see how compound interest (expecially after tax) can outgrow inflation in the long term - some equity exposure must be used in investments intended for reanimation. -- Sincerely, * Longevity Report: http://www.longevb.demon.co.uk/lr.htm John de Rivaz * Fractal Report: http://www.longevb.demon.co.uk/fr.htm **************** Homepage:http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JohndeR In the information age, sharing can increase world wealth enormously, because giving information does not decrease your information. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9850