X-Message-Number: 11753 Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 23:56:23 -0400 From: "Stephen W. Bridge" <> Subject: Cryonics patient organs To CryoNet From Steve Bridge May 14, 1999 In reply to: Message #11746 From: "Thomas Nord" <> Subject: Organs? Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 02:16:06 +0100 >I got this in response to my side: [to your "site," I think you mean. A "site" is a location. A "Web site" is a location on the World Wide Web. >"A chance at immortality, or for future governments to harvest organs >from frozen ancestors...?" >I couldn't answer. Comments? You got a responder with no imagination. This year, Harvard medical researchers cloned dog bladders. I think we will see a human patient's own cells being used to clone organs for self- transplant within 15 years, possibly sooner. No rejection; no damage to repair; nice young organs that will last for decades more. By the time we have the technology to repair cryonics patients, we will have a lot more technologies than cloning to repair organs within the body. Cadaver organs will not be used for any transplants at all after the next 40-50 years, and their use will again be considered barbaric. Even more, the organs of frozen patients would in most cases be in worse shape than fresh cadaver organs. Today transplanted organs primarily come from people who have died of trauma or sudden brain injury from aneurysm, etc. Frozen patients mostly die from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, etc. and their diseased, damaged organs would not be suitable for transplant under any circumstances. The freezing process itself adds other damage and the organs will be filled with chemicals that must be removed. It would require years of trouble, research, and expense before they could be used on "living" patients. Harvesting frozen organs from cryonics patients would be the clumsiest, most expensive, least effective method to repair damaged organs -- so it will not be used. It will not even be researched. It is possible that society will change in some way that those cryonics patients who *could* be repaired and revived will not be. But there will be no economic or societal reason to turn cryonics patients into either organ banks or slaves. >Would You like a better chance than Jesus to return? I must say I don't like this line either. If you want to stick it on your own personal e-mail, that is up to you. But I would prefer not to have it confusing people who want to look at CryoNet. Like others, I think that -- if we can ever PROVE that suspended animation is real and workable -- the Catholic Church and many other churches will approve of cryonics. Let's not put them off with our attitudes toward religion. This is a technology and should be available to anyone. Steve Bridge Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=11753