X-Message-Number: 13194
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 01:23:06 -0500
From: <>
Subject: possible long term storage of patients with companies

Charles Platt writes (on another topic, in message 13184):

> When and if reversible cryopreservation can be DEMONSTRATED, it will
> be a very different situation. But at that time you will see
> properly capitalized startups coming into the field, blowing away
> the little groups that were nurtured with so much effort and
> heartache by enthusiasts, for all these years. The best we can hope
> for is that, before we are driven out of business, we will be able
> to transfer our patients to the new, large organizations, using the
> money that has been set aside as patient care funds.

> At that time, organizations which set aside minimal funding will
> find themselves in a more precarious position than organizations
> that insisted on more conservative financial arrangements.

When and if there are companies to store patients (instead of research
organizations such as Alcor and CI), these companies will have to
charge _less_ than the existing organizations, not more.  That's just
economics.  So any organization which has assets sufficient to
generate funds for LN maintenance will be able to place its patients
with a new company, should it want to.

Of course Charles is right with his implicit claim that more
financially stable organizations have advantages.  The problem for
both organizations and would-be patients is how to make the
organizations more financially stable.  I think this is not
trivial---all moral issues aside, you can't just charge more and hope
to do better (cf. Apple vs. Microsoft) but on the other hand, you have
to charge enough to sustain this noble work.

We're fortunate that the organizations have web pages we can consult
to try to determine the strategies of each organization, how it's
doing, and how we can help.

dan

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=13194