X-Message-Number: 2481
Date: Wed, 8 Dec 93 10:41:31 CST
From: 
Subject: CRYONICS Bone marrow samples

Paul Baclace (Extropian list):
 
>Biocyte has opened the first umbilical cord stem cell cryonic storage
>facility ever.  That means that parents can store their newborn's basic
>cells (harvested from the umbilical cord) for future use for bone marrow
>replenishment and gene therapy.  The new generation can now remake
>themselves in a way the rest of us can not.  Regeneration of all their 
>parts...
 
 
Brook Norton:
 
> 1)  I read that one of the cryonics organizations will freeze/store a 
> tissue sample for you for about $300, I think.  Anyone know which 
> organization it is?  I'm 33 and like the idea of saving some genetic code 
> while I'm young to give the future doctors a clean blueprint to work from 
> as they try to turn my old reanimated self into a younger version.  Any 
> opinions on whether this is a technically sound train of thought?
 
        I think these are excellent ideas, and not just for our kids 
either.  Having a sample of your young bone marrow around 40 years 
from now could have enormous biomedical ramifications.  I'm not just 
talking about cryonics.  An autologous bone marrow sample could be 
used anytime to "re-boot" the immune system, thereby protecting you 
against a host of immune diseases and cancers from the day you donated 
it.  I also strongly suspect that decades from now young stem cells 
could form the basis of radical therapies for reversing aging.
 
        Protection against cancers today requires that bone marrow 
cryopreservation be reversible in real-time.  Can anyone confirm that 
bone marrow can in fact be reversibly cryopreserved with today's 
technology?  The second, more speculative possibility will probably be 
more tolerant of imperfect preservation since only stem cell nuclei 
may be required.    
 
        I have been interested in doing this for some time, even if it 
costs a few K.  I am not certain how to proceed.  Two (not necessarily 
independent) ingredients are required.  First, you must find a clinic 
to remove the bone marrow (a painful procedure, I'm told).  Then you 
have to find a trustworthly institution to store it.  I personally 
think cryonics organizations are better candidates for the latter than 
fly-by-night tissue banks.  Then again, there is something to be said 
for not having all your eggs in one basket.
 
        Several years ago there was a piece in the Immortalist about a 
firm offering to remove and store bone marrow with just the above 
applications in mind.  Does anyone remember the magazine issue, or the 
company name?  Are there any further comments (Steve H., Mike D.?) 
about the soundness of this strategy.
 
                                                --- Brian Wowk    

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