X-Message-Number: 16241 Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 11:25:55 -0400 (EDT) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: UK Today's CryoNet encourages people to check the Alcor web site, so I did. I found this text: "Alcor's team and facility in England, with over 15 certified Alcor CryoTransport Technicians, is at the doorstep of Europe and is expected to be our first line of defense in the event of any needs for CryoTransport of Alcor Members living there, or traveling there. Outside of the U.S., Europe has the second largest number of Alcor members, and is more often visited than any other area outside our own country. The capability in England represents a major safety net for Alcor members." Very nice! However, since about half of Alcor UK members are planning to switch to CI, and many of the remaining members seem sincere about wanting to shut down and sell the UK facility after their recent disputes with Alcor in the USA, the above text from the Alcor web page seems a trifle misleading and may need to be revised. Also, while the web page does mention "prepayment" by overseas members, it does not say that this payment can be delayed until legal death. In other words, I found no mention of the British proposal to perform preliminary work, including perfusion, in Britain, then air-ship the patient accompanied by a wire-transfer of patient funds subsidized by a bridging loan that the British people would obtain while waiting for their British insurance to reimburse them. Apparently this arrangement is still not acceptable to Alcor, in which case I see little chance of Alcor UK remaining intact, and I would expect the dozen "defectors" to go to CI as originally planned. This is unfortunate since in my personal opinion it represents a potential loss of life of twelve people. I regard the disintegration of Alcor UK as one of the saddest things to happen in cryonics during the past decade, and I wish there were some sign of a wholehearted desire to find a compromise solution. --CP Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=16241