X-Message-Number: 12162 Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 10:21:35 -0700 From: Olaf Henny <> Subject: Funeral Transporting Services Inc. NOT (just) a Mortician Robert Ettinger writes: "I'm surprised Mr. Henny apparently doesn't remember that Cryonics Institute has worked with funeral directors in this way for a long time. We (and ACS) are gradually building a network of known morticians, and have seldom had difficulty finding one in almost any required area, sometimes even on an emergency basis." Of course I was aware of C.I.'s practice of involving undertakers in the early stages of cryopreservation. That is what my suggestions was based upon. I do not have enough familiarity with the organizational structure of cryonic service providers to come up with such an idea all by myself. However, Funeral Transporting Services Inc. appear to be far from your local mortician, as a matter of fact, not being familiar with the Funeral Acts of the various states and provinces, I am not even sure if the mere transportation of corpses requires an undertaker's licence or if Funeral Transporting Services Inc. indeed have such a licence. Their name and purported scope of services offered nevertheless suggests the following: - They have an infrastructure or at least an action plan in place to transport corpses within and across national boundaries. - Considering the low volume of cryonic suspensions, it is safe to assume, that they have a much greater experience volume than any cryonic provider. Otherwise they could not stay in business. - Because of their greater volume they are likely to have more readily accessible contacts, which would be helpful in promptly facilitating transportation, where obstacles might exist (international or states boundaries). - If they also have undertaker's licences, so much the better, but as an organization with an international range they would not have the "Johnnie-on-the-spot" advantage of local morticians. It would rather be a toss-up if they could be on a particular site any sooner than the rescue team of the cryonic services provider. Best, Olaf Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=12162