X-Message-Number: 4538
Date:  Thu, 22 Jun 95 19:33:37 
From: Steve Bridge <>
Subject: Alcor's Latest Suspension

To CryoNet 
>From Steve Bridge, Alcor Foundation
June 22, 1995

     Alcor performed a whole body suspension on June 13th.  Anatol 
("Andy") Epstein was a 66 year old male history professor from New York 
City.  He had been a suspension member less than one year.  While none 
of us at Alcor had met Andy in person, we had enjoyed our telephone 
conversations immensely.  He was a kind and literate man, with a loving, 
supportive family.  

     We were aware that Andy had been battling brain cancer; but we did 
not know that he was currently hospitalized with pneumonia.  Alcor 
received less than an hour's notice of the situation before clinical 
death, which was about 10:00 p.m. in New York (7:00 p.m. in Phoenix) on 
the 12th.  This precluded a prompt field washout, since our Scottsdale 
team could not have arrived in New York until late the next morning, 
several hours after the first morning flight from New York to Phoenix.  
This was also too late for the back-up washout solution to be flown in 
from Ft. Lauderdale.

     However, thanks to some exceptional assistance from hospital 
personnel, our cooperating New York mortician, and two transport-trained 
volunteers, the suspension proceeded as well as could be expected in such 
a situation.  The hospital staff packed the patient in ice, administered 
heparin, sodium bicarbonate, and Maalox, and the physician on duty 
performed closed-chest compressions for 15 minutes to circulate the drugs.  
The mortician quickly picked up the patient and, with the assistance of 
Gerry Arthus and Curtis Henderson, packed the patient in water ice for 
shipment to Phoenix via the first America West flight on the 13th.  
(America West's overnight cargo crew in Phoenix was again extremely 
helpful in setting up the shipment.)

     By the time the patient arrived at Alcor's Scottsdale facility at 
11:15 a.m. (Phoenix time), his temperature was about 4 degrees C.  The 
suspension team was prepared, and cardiac surgery proceeded rapidly.  The 
glycerol perfusion went very smoothly and no clots were visible during the 
procedure.  Cryoprotective perfusion was completed at 4:10 p.m. and the 
patient was placed into the dry ice bath at approximately 6:00 p.m.  We 
achieved a very high glycerol concentration of approximately 7 molar 
(measured in effluent from the brain burrhole).  This is excellent under 
any circumstances and is extraordinary in a no-washout situation after 
approximately 18 hours of (chilled) ischemia.  It is obvious that the 
hospital intervention provided an immense benefit to the patient.  We are 
grateful to the hospital staff, Curtis and Gerry, and the mortician for 
all of the extra work they did.

     Alcor now has 29 suspension patients, 11 whole body and 18 neuro.  A 
full suspension report will be published in CRYONICS in a future issue.


Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=4538