X-Message-Number: 5495 From: Date: Thu, 28 Dec 1995 12:02:49 -0500 Subject: SCI. CRYONICS service in UK Brett Davenport (#5490) asks about nonprofit cryonics services in the UK, and Brian Wowk (#5491) replies that the Cryonics Institute offers a "very basic" service through funeral director Barry Albin, and Alcor offers a more sophisticated service via trained local volunteers affiliated with Alcor UK, while CryoCare presently offers no services in Europe. A couple of comments: A comparison of the details of suspension services--and more importantly, of their probable consequences--is not easy or simple, especially if one attempts to factor in likely future developments. Needless to say, we at Cryonics Institute do not believe that anyone else has a clear advantage overall; but we are committed to ongoing review of all aspects of service, and to changes when such appear clearly advantageous to our members and patients. More specifically, in the next year or two we expect--in cooperation with other organizations--to develop clearer evidence of the advantages and disadvantages of procedures currently being used or tested, as well as some which are now only proposed, and will be guided by results. If certain features of procedure used by others, or in process of being tested, are shown clearly advantageous, we will adopt them, either as standard practice or as higher-priced options if that is necessary. In any case we expect we will continue to be able to train and equip funeral directors to provide such services at relatively low cost. Robert Ettinger Cryonics Institute Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=5495