The Case for Field Cryoprotection











Keeping Cryonics Affordable

What can be done to keep cryonics affordable? Or perhaps one should say; what can be done to maintain your cryonics arrangements until the time you will need them?

Let’s start by asking the question whether cryonics is an expensive procedure. One might argue that cryonics is comparable to other advanced medical procedures such as bypass surgery or brain tumor removal, and a lot less expensive than the (futile) end-of- life care costs that are incurred by many individuals late in life. The monthly costs of life insurance and membership dues are lower than the typical health insurance premium. Unfortunately, one thing that sets cryonics apart from many of these examples is that it requires an active, ongoing, effort to maintain this affordability and neglect (not paying one’s life insurance premiums) can render all of one’s efforts in vain. As affordable as the monthly costs of cryonics may be for many people, most of us do not have the resources to fork over the total cryopreservation minimums (either neuro or whole body) without utilizing insurance or a well-designed estate plan.

The first step is to take out life insurance that is at least appropriate for the cryopreservation arrangements of one’s choice. This has been emphasized before but cannot be reiterated enough. When you are young and healthy, life insurance premiums are much lower. Even if you are not sure whether to make cryonics arrangements yet, having a life insurance policy in place can give you that peace of mind and allow you to secure lower premiums. If income permits, you can take out more insurance than is needed to cover your cryopreservation minimums so that future cost increases can be accommodated. With “premium funding” of at least $20,000 above your minimum, Alcor waives the annual $180 Comprehensive Standby Fee (the “CMS Waiver”).

In my experience many cryonics members spent little time reviewing their existing life insurance policies after they put them in place. This is not a prudent approach, especially for members whose life insurance policies were just sufficient to cover their cryopreservation minimums at the time of joining. If your income increases and this looks like a relatively dependable feature of your future, it can make good sense to increase the coverage of your life insurance policy. This is especially a smart thing to do for members who are still relatively young but further along in their careers.

Another important step is to keep your cryonics arrangements in place throughout your life. Alcor is increasingly moving towards a loyalty-based dues system in which one’s dues diminish over time, for those whose membership in good standing is uninterrupted. One advantage of this decreasing dues system is that your dues will go down when you reach a point in your life when you may no longer work.

What can Alcor do to keep cryonics affordable for you? From the administrative side it can “nudge” you to ensure you do not fall behind on dues (automatic deductions) and remind you to upgrade insufficient or poorly-performing insurance policies. It should aim to take advantage of economies of scale by automating administrative and technical functions and use unexpected surplus income to reduce costs in the long run. Eventually there may come a point where the patient number is high enough to create storage solutions that substantially reduce liquid nitrogen boil-off.

The most important step that Alcor can take now to reduce costs and increase the quality of care is to merge the remote standby/stabilization phase of its procedures with its cryoprotection phase. This “field cryoprotection” is already our recommended protocol for overseas cases. If it can be implemented in many major areas in the US, significant cost reductions may be possible. It is not often that a cryonics organization can improve its procedures and save money at the same time.

Originally published as a column in Cryonics magazine, September -October, 2017

New Warming Breakthrough for Cryopreserved Organs?








Premedication in Cryonics Revisited


If there are medications, nutrients, minerals, and/ or vitamins that can mitigate the adverse effects of ischemia after circulatory arrest, it stands to reason that some of these strategies may even confer greater benefits if they are already being pursued prior to pronouncement of legal death.

Two surveys of the topic of premedication, the only such writings that I know of, were penned by Michael Darwin many years ago. The first is “Reducing Ischemic Damage in Cryonic Suspension Patients by Premedication” (Cryonics, April 1991). The second, more extensive treatment is “Premedication of the Human Cryopreservation Patient,” Chapter 7 of the 1994 cryonics manual Standby: End-Stage Care of the Human Cryopreservation Patient. One case report showing use of premedication is that of James Gallagher, 1995 (Alcor Patient A-1871).

In his contributions, Darwin covers topics such as medico-legal issues, risks and benefits, patient evaluation, drug categories, specific medications, evidence, contraindications, etc. Here I briefly review some recent stabilization medications research for its relevance to premedication protocols.

Broadly speaking, there are two categories of premedication drugs: (1) Drugs aimed at preventing certain events following circulatory arrest and (2) drugs aimed at mitigating the damage that (inevitably) follows circulatory arrest. An example of the former is prevention of blood clots and an example of the latter is ischemia-induced free radical generation.

When our lab, Advanced Neural Biosciences, conducted stabilization medications research we administered medications prior to or concurrent with circulatory arrest. This model is effective in
looking at the efficacy of drugs but in real human cryopreservation administration of medications is often delayed. An interesting feature of this model, however, is that it may tell us something about the efficacy of these medications had they been part of a premedication regime.

As reported in our research summary in the January-February, 2017 issue of Cryonics magazine, we only found consistent and beneficial effects for two medications; heparin and sodium citrate. Both agents prevent the formation of blood clots, although sodium citrate may also exhibit general neuroprotective properties as a calcium chelator.

If we reflect on these results with the two categories of drugs discussed above in mind, it is tempting to conclude that only drugs that can prevent a specific ischemia-induced effect (like blood clotting) can improve the cryopreservation of the patient. This would be premature to conclude at this stage. Not just because of our choice of animal model and sample size, but because some of the medications in Alcor’s stabilization protocol may better help to sustain biological viability after the start of cryonics procedures and/or inhibit biochemical events that degrade brain ultrastructure.

Stabilization medications research can provide data to formulate an evidence-based premedication program, but there are issues that are unique to premedication. For example, a highly effective agent like sodium citrate cannot be administered prior pronouncement of legal death because it immediately stops the heart. There are also medications that may be effective for the critically ill patient (for example, drugs aimed at preventing arrhythmias and sudden death during decline) that have no meaningful role to play in cryonics stabilization procedures.

Originally published as a column in Cryonics magazine, May-June, 2017

The False Hope of Cryonics

One of the most common accusations leveled at cryonics organizations is that they offer “false hope.” For this accusation to make sense, critics would have to demonstrate it is impossible in principle, or at least highly unlikely, for cryonics to work.

What would it mean for cryonics organizations to offer a service which, at best, is “highly unlikely to work”? If the cryonics premise, that cryogenically preserved individuals could eventually be revived in a functioning, healthy state with memories reasonably intact, contradicted the known (or well-accepted) laws of physics, one could certainly justify the charge of “false hope.” But who has ever shown this? No one, of course. Nor have they approximated it by arguing that “well, it probably contradicts what is physically possible, including any technology likely to ever be developed in the future.” Has anyone shown this? (Have you seen any of their probability estimates and do you agree with them?) For cryonics to have the best chance of working, deterioration of the body needs to be halted as soon as possible and future medical technologies will need to cure the original disease of the patient – and any additional damage sustained during the cryopreservation process itself. It is commonly assumed that some kind of medical technology will be needed that can manipulate matter at the molecular level. Such developments are envisioned and being developed right now. Human biology itself demonstrates on a daily basis that it is possible to conduct biochemical actions with molecular precision.

A more empirical, biological, argument that could be made is that deterioration of the brain after pronouncement of legal death is so rapid that there is not enough left of the brain to repair or even infer its original state. It can be admitted that resuscitation without cognitive deficits is challenging or presently impossible after circulatory arrest of 10 minutes or more. But this does not mean that the ultrastructure of the brain itself has been wiped out. In fact, experimental studies that actually look at this ultrastructure do not show major changes to identity-critical structures for hours after cardiac arrest.

Critics also tend to conflate their criticism of cryonics done under good conditions with what is done under difficult, suboptimal circumstances, as if the obviously bad scenarios could not be improved upon even under the best of circumstances. Current cryonics protocol at Alcor is to start cryonics procedures (restoring circulation, cooling) immediately after pronouncement of legal death. (If cryonics were recognized as an elective medical procedure, there would be an even smoother transition, with less stress to the tissues, from terminal illness to cryopreservation.)

What about freezing damage? If a human brain is frozen without cryoprotection the freezing damage will be considerable. But does this damage preclude inferring the undamaged state of the brain from the damaged state? I am not aware of any serious arguments or empirical studies that show this. One important point that always needs to be kept in mind about cryonics is that damage occurs at the same time as molecular motion is arrested by cold, and cold is not a reliable means of erasing information. But more importantly, the freezing-damage argument is misplaced because in cryonics the brain is vitrified instead of frozen, which largely eliminates freezing damage. True, the high concentrations of cryoprotectants needed for vitrification still cause some degree of toxicity. But this kind of injury is not the mechanical damage seen in freezing, and may even be difficult to detect on an ultrastructural level at all.

As far as I can tell, the naïve and irresponsible accusation that cryonics offers a “false hope” rests on either a misunderstanding about what is involved in cryonics (or would be needed for success) or what cryonics organizations communicate to (prospective) members.  Considering the trends toward reversible cryopreservation and further miniaturization in engineering and medicine, it is reasonable to expect that the conditions for cryonics to work will be met in the future. Cryonics is not just an “act of faith” but an “act of reason.”

I would even go further and claim that those who uncritically throw around phrases like “false hope” are encouraging a form of “false despair.” For they categorically refuse to engage with the logical arguments and science that support cryonics. Their reckless talk instead is a further supporting buttress for  rationalizations of aging, disease, and death. All this we firmly reject, and instead are working toward further human enhancement.

Originally submitted as a column for Cryonics magazine, March-April, 2017. Readers may want to compare with the alternative exposition by Ralph Merkle that was published.

Alcor Associate Membership

As of writing, Alcor has more than 1100 members with cryonics arrangements. The Alcor Facebook page, however, has more than 14,000 likes. While it is easy to “like” something on social media, this number indicates that there are a lot of people who support our mission and research but are not quite ready to make cryonics arrangements for themselves. In 2012, I sent a proposal to the Alcor Advisors and Board of Directors to introduce a new kind of membership that allows people who support Alcor’s mission to join the organization as Associate Members. Associate Members pay a small annual fee ($60 or $5 a month) and get a paper copy of Alcor’s magazine, discounts on conferences and events, access to the Alcor forum, and the paid fees can be used to lower or eliminate the application fee for full membership. Alcor now has 317 Associate Members. This is not bad at all, but membership statistics at other cryonics organizations, such as the Cryonics Institute, indicate that it should be possible to have at least twice the amount of Associate Members as members with full cryonics arrangements.

One attractive feature of Associate Membership is that, unlike full membership, it can be easily gifted to friends and family, too. In fact, what I would like to achieve with this column is to encourage each and every reader (yes, you, too!) to think of someone who supports cryonics and life extension and encourage them to become an Associate Member, or even gift it to them.

You know this friend who is still figuring out her life insurance…Associate Membership!

What about that person who would like to join Alcor in the future but only when they introduce fracture free storage… Associate Membership!

That colleague who is fascinated with the idea of cryonics needs to think about it a little more…Associate Membership.

And there is this person who has been saying for 5 years now that they will sign up but never gets around to start the process…. Associate Membership.

Not sure about which cryonics organization to join? Join both major US cryonics organizations as a non-funded member and learn more.

What would it be like if Alcor had 5,000 Associate Members instead of 300? For starters, more resources would be available for publication of the magazine, social media presence, bigger conferences, and other outreach events. Local life extension and cryonics groups would see substantial growth in attendance, and new groups can be started to bring people with shared interests together. Support for cryonics research would grow. And when cryonics is under threat by hostile critics or legislators, we can draw from more people to mount an effective response. And perhaps, most importantly, a larger membership will allow Alcor to recruit more (young) talented writers, advocates, and researchers who can work together to bring human suspended animation closer to reality and strengthen the scientific and legal status of human cryopreservation.

So think hard about all these conversations you had over the last couple of years, or the people you’d really, really, like to see reading more about cryonics and Alcor and call Alcor (480) 905-1906 or head over here, and give the gift of life: associate.html

Originally published as a column in Cryonics magazine, January-February, 2017

Advances in Cryoprotectant Toxicity Research


Studying cryoprotectant mixtures on rabbit kidney slices, Fahy and colleagues came to the following conclusions:

can prevent ice formation during cooldown and warming.

2. The toxicity of some cryoprotectants can be neutralized by combining them with other cryoprotectants.







Benjamin Best’s paper is more general in scope but discusses a lot of experimental data from other papers and also critically discusses Fahy’s work on cryoprotectant toxicity. As Ben Best points out, different (and seemingly contradictory) results do not necessarily mean that cryoprotectant toxicity is a species or cell-type dependent phenomenon. One could imagine a meta-analysis of cryobiology data in which variables such as concentration, loading and unloading protocols, exposure temperature, exposure time, and the type of viability assay are matched to ensure methodological consistency. It is also important to compare cryoprotectants at their minimum concentration to vitrify to make meaningful toxicity comparisons.



The most fundamental question in the design of vitrification solutions remains whether it is possible at all to introduce high concentrations of cryoprotectants without creating any kind of irreversible molecular and ultrastructural adverse effects. Understanding what specific and nonspecific cryoprotectant toxicity exactly is should enable us to answer this question.

Originally published as a column in Cryonics magazine, August-September, 2016

Scientific Proof for Cryonics?

A cryonics advocate makes an eloquent case for cryonics. Then a scientist is called upon to dismiss the idea of cryonics because there is “no proof” for it. Unfortunately, such a statement reveals that the “scientist” in question does not know the difference between empirical science and logic, and also does not understand the difference between cryonics and suspended animation.

As the evolutionary biologist Satoshi Kanazawa writes in a November 16, 2008 column for Psychology Today “The knowledge that there is no such thing as a scientific proof should give you a very easy way to tell real scientists from hacks and wannabes… Proofs exist only in mathematics and logic, not in science. Mathematics and logic are both closed, self-contained systems of propositions, whereas science is empirical and deals with nature as it exists. The primary criterion and standard of evaluation of scientific theory is evidence, not proof.” He goes on to write that “all scientific knowledge is tentative and provisional, and nothing is final. There is no such thing as final proven knowledge in science.”

What is the proper role of science in cryonics? Let’s say that a person proposes that if we freeze a person after clinical death there is a reasonable expectation that more advanced medical technologies can reverse the freezing damage, the medical condition that gave rise to this person’s critical condition, and also the aging process that caused this medical condition in the first place. We can respond to this proposal by asking a number of questions. What will freezing do to the fine structure of the brain? How will future medical technologies infer the original state of the brain from the frozen state? What kind of technologies are required to repair the brain and restore the person to a healthy and youthful state?

These are the kinds of questions where science (and reasonable extrapolations of where science will be heading) is important in evaluating the idea of cryonics. And we are not limited to just consulting existing science, we can also push science in the direction of minimizing the damage incurred during cryopreservation so the odds of revival for the typical cryonics patient will increase. For example, in 2000 Alcor changed its protocol from limiting freezing to eliminating it through a technology called vitrification. Advances in gene editing, virus modification, and nano-scale 3D printing can make the idea of cell repair more plausible. Advances in science and technology of this nature can make people update their prior (subjective) estimates about the probability of cryonics being successful.

What such advances in science cannot do is to provide “proof ” that cryonics will work. They cannot do this because all scientific knowledge is “tentative and provisional,” but it also cannot do this for a more fundamental reason. Cryonics is not suspended animation. Cryonics concerns
stabilizing people for whom no successful medical treatment is available to permit them to benefit from future advances in medicine. By definition, it is not possible to prove that these technologies will become available.

What people who insist on “proof ” for cryonics want to see is evidence of reversible cryopreservation. Human suspended animation is indeed a research- and clinical objective that a credible cryonics organization should aim for. But it cannot be emphasized enough that while “proof ” of suspended animation would provide strong support for the practice of cryonics is it is not necessary for the cryonics idea to be plausible. What is necessary for cryonics to work is that the brain (and rest of the body) of a person are preserved to a degree that the original, healthy, state of the brain can be inferred from the preserved state. Perhaps future “neurological archeology” technologies will reveal that even freezing of the brain without cryoprotectant allows for complete revival.

A proper understanding of cryonics requires that scientists recognize the difference between providing proof and updating expectations based on empirical evidence. But it also requires the scientist, as the great cryonics writer Thomas Donaldson once recognized, to make peace with the unknown because the capabilities of future science remain a matter of debate and we cannot say for certain when a person is dead by information-theoretic criteria.

Originally published as a column in Cryonics magazine, July-August, 2016

How “Repair Denialism” Prevents a Rational Discussion About Cryonics









Human Biostasis Options: Advantages and Limitations

On February 9, 2016 the Brain Preservation Foundation announced that the cryobiology company 21st Century Medicine had won their small mammal brain preservation prize. The team at 21st Century Medicine used a procedure named Aldehyde-Stabilized Cryopreservation (ASC) to preserve the ultrastructure of the brain in a “near-perfect” condition. It is important to understand how ASC differs from both conventional cryopreservation and other human biostasis alternatives to understand its merits and limitations.

In conventional cryopreservation (which is the procedure Alcor currently uses) the blood (and cell water) in the brain is replaced with a vitrification agent that permits long term storage at liquid nitrogen temperature without further degradation. The advantage of this method is that it seeks to both preserve viability and the fine ultrastructure of the brain. Currently, the disadvantage of this method is that it produces (severe) cerebral and cellular dehydration, which alters the ultrastructure of the brain and renders some components of the brain difficult to observe in electron micrographs.

A radically different alternative to cryopreservation is to chemically fix the brain with aldehydes (formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde) and store the brain at room temperature or in a fridge in the liquid state. While some people consider such a procedure “better than nothing”, Alcor does not support this kind of “chemopreservation” as a long term care option due to concerns about long-term degradation and  sub-optimal preservation in ischemic cases. An extensive critique of liquid state chemopreservation can be found in my article ‘Chemical Brain Preservation and Human Suspended Animation.’

What is notable about the procedure that won the small mammal brain preservation prize is that it combines both aldehyde fixation and vitrification. In short, first the brain is perfused with glutaraldehyde, followed by perfusion of a high concentration of cryoprotectant to protect the brain against ice formation during long term care. This idea is actually not new and was discussed in in the mid-1980s in Eric Drexler’s book Engines of Creation. The renewed popularity
and technological development of this idea was recently triggered by the formation of the Brain Preservation Foundation and its emphasis on ultrastructural preservation. The protocol that won the small mammal brain cryopreservation prize has shown indeed a degree of ultrastructural preservation that has not yet been achieved with conventional brain cryopreservation.

Alcor’s biggest concern with aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation is that it renders the tissue completely dead by contemporary viability criteria by creating irreversible crosslinks between bio-molecules. Despite claims to preserve the “connectome”, at the molecular level structure is fundamentally altered. In terms of research aimed at reversible biopreservation, this is a dead end.

Conventional cryo, conventional chemo, and a combination of the two are the three most discussed options of human biopreservation. Other, hypothetical possibilities include (a) vitrification with agents with much higher glass transition temperatures that permit warmer storage such as at dry ice temperature (b) poly-vitrification, in which high molecular weight polymers are used to stabilize the patient near or at room temperature, and (c) the use of molecular nanobots to induce reversible biostasis (an idea originally proposed by Robert Freitas).

The current position of Alcor is to keep researching and offering conventional cryopreservation without the use of chemical fixatives. The research emphasis of the organization and associated labs this year will be to produce better electron micrographs of cryopreserved brains and the validation of blood brain barrier modifying agents to eliminate the severe dehydration that is currently observed in “good” cryonics cases.

Originally published as a column in Cryonics magazine, March-April, 2016