X-Message-Number: 10144
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 12:19:09 -0700
From: Richard Gillmann <>
Subject: Supporting cryonics research


I'd like to support cryonics research in a modest way financially, and so I've 
been doing a little research about organizations I might support.  Mostly I have
used the web and Cryonics magazine as my sources.  I thought I'd share what 
I've found with the cryonet list and maybe get some feedback if I've gotten some
stuff wrong, or left something out.

My personal criteria for choosing an organization are:


1.  Should be a registered charity (a non-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) 
status with the Internal Revenue Service) - so I can write my donation off on my
taxes.  I can imagine other possibilities, such as a stock offering in a 
for-profit corporation, but the 501(c)(3) thing seems the most likely situation.
Most charities are listed on the Guidestar web site at 
http://www.guidestar.org but not all - Guidestar is often incomplete or out of 
date.


2.  Should conduct research on a scientific basis.  Since cryonics is 
controversial, most scientists are going to stay away for fear of becoming 
controversial themselves, and then losing their grants from the government or 
corporations.  So it's going to take some brave souls - maybe tenure or personal
wealth may excempt them from the usual need for caution.  I can understand that
they might wish to remain anonymous, but I'd still like to read the report when
the research is done.


3.  Should not involve needless animal cruelty.  I've been appalled by reports 
of experiments where live mammals are tossed into liguid nitrogen.  Cryonics is 
controversial enough as it is without adding animal cruelty to the mix.  In our 
primitive state of understanding, there are plenty of experiments to be done on 
tissue samples from dead animals.  We need to first learn how to freeze/thaw 
cells so that there is no apparent damage.


OK so what research organizations are there to consider?  Here's what I've 
found:


A.  Alcor (http://www.alcor.org) research.  It's not clear from their web site 
and literature what if any research is under way here.  They talk about what's 
been done in the past, some of which was excellent.  They are a 501(c)(3) and 
listed in Guidestar.  Does part of each suspension fee go to research (seems 
like it should)?  Can a donation to the organization be earmarked for research 
only?


B.  Cyronics Institute (http://www.cryonics.org) research.  Again, they talk 
about what's been done in the past.  Not clear if any current research is going 
on, and on what basis.


C.  The Prometheus Project (http://www.prometheus-project.org).  Web site is 
very impressive - they claim over $4 million in pledges over ten years, and have
a long list of  donors.  But the legal structure is murky with some mixture of 
a charitable trust and a for-profit corporation.  I can't find them in 
Guidestar.  And the web site hasn't been updated since last year.  And Saul Kent
writes in the latest Cryonics magazine that INC "has taken over what was 
formerly known as the Prometheus Project"!  So what happened?


D.  INC - The Institute for Neural Cryobiology (http://neurocryo.org).  This 
looks the best to me so far.  They are a 501(c)(3) and found in Guidestar, 
albeit with an old address in Northern California.  Their proposed research 
involves work on samples of brain tissue, conducted at a local university and 
hospital.  The board of directors includes a number of well known cryonics 
advocates.


So far then, the best bet looks to be INC.  I'd appreciate any comments from the
list - I'm pretty new to this stuff.


=====================================================================Richard 
Gillmann                    http://www.nwlink.com/~rxg
Issaquah, WA (USA)                  
=====================================================================

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