X-Message-Number: 27948 Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 10:28:09 -0400 (EDT) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: desirability of standby References: <> > Message #27946 > Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 21:09:02 -0400 > From: "Henry R. Hirsch" <> > Subject: Cryonics Institute Funding > > The services of Suspended Animation more than triple the $28000 cost of a > whole-body suspension at Cryonics Institute. Is this expenditure necessary? CI's own president, Ben Best, has written informatively on the importance of rapid intervention. Mr. Hirsch apparently doesn't believe Ben, or may be simply unaware of some rather basic facts regarding ischemic injury (the cellular damage that occurs when the blood stops flowing). I feel that all cryonicists owe it to themselves to spend at least an hour or two learning what will happen to them after cardiac arrest if no one intervenes appropriately. For a cryonics-related discussion of ischemic injury, I recommend: http://www.benbest.com/cryonics/ischemia.html Although this is a technical document it contains statements such as: "Nanotechnology may be able to repair freezing damage because brain structure remains, though in a scrambled form. Unlike freezing damage, warm ischemia eventually leads to dissolution of brain tissue into a structureless soup." In other words, ischemic injury has the potential to inflict damage that may be much more difficult to reverse than freezing injury. Ben's conclusion: "The highest priority should be to ensure that death does not strike at times & places that leave one completely unprepared to begin timely cooldown & cardiopulmonary support." Ben is less convinced by the need for anti-ischemic medications than I am, but the overall message seems clear enough. Rapid intervention is important. His recommendations for equipment will be found at: http://www.benbest.com/cryonics/localres.html Now, what precisely can you expect from your local funeral director? Is he going to wait patiently by your bedside for several days, until the moment when death is pronounced? Will he then apply whole-body icewater cooling (not just static lumps of ice) using a recirculation pump, plus uninterrupted ventilation of the lungs, and mechanical cardiopulmonary support (which has been proven far more effective than chest compressions applied manually)? Will he then do a femoral cutdown followed by blood substitution with an organ preservation solution? And will all of these procedures be performed with a high sense of urgency and dedication, driven by the knowledge that if cell death can be averted, the patient is not really "dead" at all? If Mr. Hirsch has a funeral director who can and will do all of this, he is a lucky man indeed. In fact I would say he is unique in the history of cryonics. I have met funeral directors who are very helpful and willing to do what cryonics advocates request, but inevitably they do not share our core motivation. I doubt that any funeral director entirely shares our sense of urgency, our mindset, and our particular dedication. In addition, none of them possesses the necessary equipment to do what I believe needs to be done. If Mr. Hirsch is concerned about the cost of standbys, I wonder if he has taken the trouble to read the explanation on the CI web site at: http://www.cryonics.org/SA/SA_Costs.html He may also wish to compare the services from his funeral director with the protocol offered to CI members by Suspended Animation: http://www.cryonics.org/SA/SA_Protocol.html I feel that it is somewhat irresponsible of Mr. Hirsch to make "recommendations" to other people which apparently are not based on any thorough understanding of the very real damage that can and does normally occur in the absence of rapid intervention of the type I have outlined above. --Charles Platt > Is it even a good idea? If you die near home, which is likely, your local > funeral director may be able to cut through the red tape at your community > hospital more easily than people from out of town. The funeral director > will then infuse heparin, pack you in ice, place you in an appropriate > container (Ziegler case), and send you to CI. Under current protocols, he > has no other duties. $10000 in a local help rider attached to your CI > contract will more than cover the funeral director's cost, including > transportation. The total cost is that of the premiums on a $38000 life > insurance policy. That is what I am doing myself, and I recommend the same > to other cryonicists. > > Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=27946 > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > End of CryoNet Digest > ********************* > > Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=27948