X-Message-Number: 2444 Subject: CRYONICS New Cryonics Organization From: (Charles Platt) Date: Wed, 27 Oct 93 00:39:55 EDT On Saturday, October 23rd, a meeting was held in Chicago to announce tentative plans for establishing CryoCare, a new cryonics organization. Hosting the meeting were Saul Kent, Brenda Peters, and Courtney Smith. A similar meeting was held in New York City on Sunday, October 24th, co-hosted by the same people with the addition of Charles Platt. Thirty-six people attended the New York meeting. (I don't have figures for the meeting in Chicago.) CryoCare will contract with other newly formed, independent organizations for the three major functions of cryonics: standby/stabilization/suspension, long-term patient storage, and investment of patient funds. Clients of CryoCare will be free to select the service providers of their choice, where a choice exists now or in the future. Competition will provide a motivating force among service providers, and CryoCare will withdraw its endorsement from service providers that do not meet minimum standards. This "separation of powers" provides greater security and a stronger incentive for maintaining quality than has ever existed in cryonics. In addition, the use of a separate, bona-fide trust to invest patient funds will provide insurance against the misuse of those funds at any time in the future. Reaction at the New York meeting was very positive. People at the meeting seemed uniformly eager to look ahead and avoid any further "gripe sessions" about current cryonics providers. Issues relating to Alcor, for instance, were barely mentioned. Some people made suggestions which will be incorporated into the final organization plan. The plan is still tentative at this stage, but Mike Darwin's company, BioPreservation, which is CryoCare's choice as a provider of suspension services, already has almost all the necessary equipment to conduct suspensions. Much of this equipment is more sophisticated and more modern than can be found in any other cryonics organization. A detailed progress report describing the proposed details of CryoCare was handed out at the meetings. A dozen copies of this progress report are still available, including color photographs of BioPreservation's operating room, its building, and one of its two ambulances. Anyone who wants a copy of the progress report can obtain it by sending email to , while supplies last. Sign-up paperwork for CryoCare is not yet ready, but should be available well before the end of the year. Several people have called asking whether to make (or renew) suspensions elsewhere, or wait for CryoCare. Our advice is that if you want immediate coverage, by all means make (or continue) arrangements with the cryonics organization of your choice; but if you are interested in the CryoCare plan, try to keep your future options open. CryoCare has already been endorsed, supported, and partially funded by more than thirty cryonics activists, many of them with exceptional professional skills. BioPreservation, directed by Mike Darwin and Steve Harris, MD, has unmatched technical capability, professional medical personnel, and facilities. This, we think, is the rational future of cryonics. If you would like to receive future updates regarding CryoCare, please send email to , and your name will be added to a temporary mail list for this purpose only. --Charles Platt Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=2444