X-Message-Number: 32461 Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2010 14:10:01 +0000 (UTC) From: Melody Maxim <> Subject: Cost of Neuro vs. Whole Body Cryopreservation In post #32459, Mathew Sullivan writes: >>"Also, Dave neglects to consider that vitrification solutions used today are VERY expensive, and neuro patients only require a small fraction of what is required for whole body patients."<< Mathew Sullivan neglects to consider that it is not necessary to perfuse the entire body with the expensive vitrification solutions, in order to avoid the negative publicity associated with decapitations. Ironically, many people claim Cryonics Institute does not do "neuros," but for all intents and purposes, they are actually performing neuro-vitrification on most, (if not all), of their cryopreserved members, by isolating the head vessels. In other words, they perfuse only the head with the vitrification solutions, while leaving the body attached. In addition to preventing clots, which may have formed in the body, from being pushed into the head vessels during whole body perfusion, this practice avoids a lot of negative publicity. I agree with David Pizer, and everyone else who argues that decapitations are bad for the public image of cryonics, especially when Alcor has frequently allowed persons with little, (perhaps no), more formal education than a high school diploma, to perform these procedures, which certainly would appear gruesome, to the average person. Melody Maxim Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=32461