X-Message-Number: 15195 Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 15:04:08 -0700 From: Fred Chamberlain <> Subject: First Alcor Neuro-Vitrification Procedure; December, 2000 Date: 12/26/2000 From: Fred Chamberlain To: CryoNet Re: Alcor Neuro-Vitrification Procedure In December, 2000 On the morning of 12/9/2000, a Member of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Palm Springs, California experienced irreversible cardiac arrest, after a brief overnight episode of pneumonia. Alcor had previously performed two standbys for this member, supported by the member's family, once for a heart valve replacement nearly four years before, and more recently for a stroke in which the member was not expected to even survive the intial examination. In the most recent case, the family did not call for a standby, and could not be contacted at all until after death was pronounced. The member was in his 90's, and until recently had regularly played golf. He had been signed up with Alcor for many years. The options were limited, in that the patient (as a whole-body) could not be removed from California without paperwork required by Riverside County, which as of Saturday Morning would have required a delay of two days. (Such procedures vary from county to county, state to state). Instead, removal from Palm Springs with cooling was effected within a few hours by a mortuary service to the Los Angeles area. Even before that, calls by an Alcor Physician prompted the administration of heparin. Cooling was started far more promptly than in the recently reported case of FM-2030; by comparison, initial conditions were much better. Neuroseparation was carried out by contract consultants from a research company, who had been on alert in a particular high-risk Alcor Member's case since mid-summer, and thus had special motivations for participation. The patient's cephalon became an anatomically donated organ and was able to be transported to Arizona immediately while the remains, legally constituting the deceased person, remained in Californina for cremation. [I am sorry that I cannot publicly credit these consultants or name their company, or disclose concerning the high risk case mentioned, but privacy considerations, of the professionals and their corporations as well as the patient, necessitate this. If Alcor Members or those actively in the signup process have additional questions, I encourage them to contact Alcor at 480-905-1906 and speak with Jennifer Chapman (Membership Administrator) or Linda Chamberlain (Executive Director). If they can't answer your questions to your satisfaction, I'll be happy to speak with you.] Alcor, through a support contract with BioTransport, Inc., has had access to cryovitrification procedures since 6/29/2000, licensed to BioTransport by 21st Century Medicine, Inc. (21CM). That technology was described in presentations at Alcor's Asilomar Conference last June, and has more recently been reported in the current (Fourth Quarter, 2000) issue of Cryonics. Also, in the last six months Alcor has compared cooldown media to develop even more rapid applications of cryovitrification than had been earlier held to be adequate by 21CM. Although the fixures, the perfusion circuitry and even the surgical procedures are still under development, the best advice we had was that application of these vitrification techniques offered the highest chance for avoidance of ice crystal damage in the patient's brain. These methods were used. It is not appropriate to confirm that this patient was vitrified, because that will await a series of trials with appropriate sized and structured cephalons. However, based on the temperature cooldown data that was obtained, and based on the materials used and the cryoprotective concentrations reached during perfusion, and based on burhole observations of the surface of the brain, the expectations are that very few ice crystals will have formed, and that by standards we are using a few years from now, this patient will qualify as Alcor's first "vitrification". More details will appear in future issues of Cryonics Magazine, as with the FM-2030 article, where a summary precedes a more detailed exposition. For the present, This brief recap of the 12/9/2000 suspension may help answer questions which have arisen via rumor. We ask that those who seriously want a confirmed evaluation be patient, while Alcor fully evaluates the suspension. At this time, it appears nearly certain that a second neurovitrification will take place before the end of the year. Correlating data from that procedure could help Alcor more fully evaluate this new approach, and gain confidence that it represents the best that can be done for Alcor Members. Fred Chamberlain, President/CEO () Alcor Life Extension Foundation Non-profit cryotransport services since 1972. 7895 E. Acoma Dr., Suite 110, Scottsdale AZ 85260-6916 Membership Information: (877) GO-ALCOR (462-5267) Phone (480) 905-1906 FAX (480) 922-9027 for general requests <http://www.alcor.org/>http://www.alcor.org Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=15195