X-Message-Number: 6317
Date: 05 Jun 96 02:11:17 EDT
From: Mike Darwin <>
Subject: Sci.Cryonics: Home Wanted

An Embarrassment of Riches?


Sometime ago, BioPreservation positioned a remote standby kit in New York City 
to 

service clients in the Bosh-Wash corridor.  While this kit was fairly 
comprehensive, it 
lacked several items of considerable importance:


1) Premixed perfusate for initial blood washout and iced transport of the 
patient.
2) A refrigerator to hold the perfusate.

3) A reliable, insulated air shipping container with a temperature alarm and 
monitor.
4) Oxygen cylinders to run the Thumper.


Item #1 above was not placed in New York because we were planning on switching 
from 

Viaspan (a commercial flush solution) to our own in-house solution which has 
been tried 

and tested in dogs over the past 4 years (and will be updated as progress is 
made).  Not 

only is the in-house solution better, it is far less expensive than Viaspan and 
has a 3 year 
shelf life.


Items #2, #3 and #4 were not placed largely due to lack of *space* for them.  No
one has 
the room to store them!


For several reasons the situation with East Coast kit has gone from bad to worse
in terms 

of logistics.  BPI recently completed work modifying a nice sealer casket into a
top flight 

water/ dry ice air shipper.  We were blessed with this asset because there was 
*no reliable 

container* in New York when the last CryoCare patient arrested and thus it was 
necessary 

to purchase *retail* a good quality casket and metal shipper (which was used as 
the inner 

container).  This clearly points up the *need* for a shipping container in New 
York.  

Indeed, Alcor has retrieved several patients from New York City in the last few 
years.


We now have THREE shipping containers here at BPI: a  state-of-the art 
custom-built 

unit, an older second generation unit which is still serviceable and is lighter 
and smaller 

than the other two, and now the modified casket-air-tray unit.  *We need to get 
at least 

one of these units out into the field!*  We certainly don't have space for all 
three here!



For some months now we have had prepackaged and premixed perfusate available for

ALL PHASES of human cryopreservation operations.  This means that not only do we

have field washout solution prepackaged, but we also have solved the long 
unsolved 

problem of stable, sterile storage of cryoprotective recirculating and 
concentrate 
perfusates.


As an aside, this was no mean feat!  Those of you unfamiliar first-hand with the
technical 

aspects of cryonics will probably be unable on an emotional level to appreciate 
what an 

advance this is.  This is because you have never MIXED and FILTERED perfusate!

Mixing perfusate takes hours--about 6-8 hours from start to finish.  It also 
ties up critical 
personnel at the worst possible time.


Given our tight profit margins and the absence of a large full-time cryonics 
staff we have 

been forced to be very persistent in solving this problem.  People are hard to 
get and cost 
lots of money.  We are now in a position where we can use them wisely and cost-
effectively.


A corollary of this is that we now have the resources and desire to place 
washout solution 
on the East Coast.


However, we still have the problem of space.  Proposals for cooperative ventures
with 

other cryonics groups with members in the NYC area  (in the past) to share costs
and 

benefits of housing bulky and costly goods such as the kit and an air shipper 
have not been 

productive.  The burden has thus been borne by Charles Platt who has generously

consumed a good footprint of his office space with the kit (but can scarcely be 
expected to 

store an air shipper and perfusate!).  However, very shortly Charles will be 
moving his 

office back to his apartment.  And THAT means we have no place to store even the
kit.


My cynicism about cryonics is legendary inside CryoCare.  It comes from years of

observations of a people relentlessly committed to shooting themselves in the 
feet.  I keep 

hoping that some minimum level of common-sense will prevail, but I am not 
hopeful.


With the above caveat duly stated, I cautiously ask if there is any interest by 
any 

reasonable cryonicist or group thereof to house a full standby and washout  
capability in 
NYC or thereabouts?  If you are interested contact me by e-mail.

Things NOT to do:


1) Do NOT contact me if you want to execute some elaborate and Byzantine 
contract 

wherein I pay you or your group for the privilege of having standby capability 
placed in 
your area.  


2) Do NOT contact me unless YOU have a clean, secure, temperature-controlled 
area for 

the kit itself and a secure dry area for the air shipper.  You're Aunt's utility
shed on her 
farm in Hoboken is not going to cut it.


3) Do not prepare grandiose plans or ideas centering around the kit.  If I 
wanted to start a 

business in NYC I'd have done so.  If you can't raise $50K in venture capital to
start 

Standbys R Us, don't put me through paperwork and negotiation hell.  I want a 
SIMPLE 
agreement.  Common sense and no hassles must be cornerstones.

Things TO do:

1) Ask questions as you need to.

2) Think over carefully whether you want the hassle and responsibility.


3) If you are acting on behalf a group, make sure you have full faith and 
credit, as well as 

AUTHORITY to negotiate terms, and keep it simple.  Complexity = costs for you 
and 
me!

Mike Darwin


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