X-Message-Number: 6424
Date: 01 Jul 96 12:31:44 EDT
From: "Kent, Saul" <>
Subject: Exploiting Brain Vitrification

	Regarding Thomas Donaldson's comments about the effects of
brain vitrification on cryonics, I'd like to make the following
points:
	
	1) The effects of perfected brain cryopreservation on membership
growth, public opinion, and the attitudes of the scientific and business
communities towards cryonics will depend, in large part, I believe, on
our ability to exploit this advance. As someone who will be involved in
this effort, I have great confidence about our ability to do so.
	
	2) Because cryonics involves the use of unperfected technology, 
we will have the opportunity to exploit progress in brain cryopreserva-
tion *long* before we perfect it. A well-funded program to achieve brain
cryopreservation (headed by top cryobiologists and neuroscientists) will
provide us with a steady stream of progress reports in biomedical
journals that we will be able to use, I believe, very effectively, to
increase the credibility of cryonics, which would be translated into
accelerated membership growth and greater investment in the research. By
the time, we actually achieve perfected brain cryopreservation, we'll
already be riding a wave of greater acceptance and growth that could be
carried "over the top" by the final achievement. By that time, we should
have a thriving industry and plenty of money for whole-body suspended
animation research.
	
	3) Any company that owns brain cryopreservation technology would
at that point, in my opinion, have greater potential for profit than
any company in history.
	
	4) Points 1-3 are based on my opinions.  Others will disagree.
But even if I am largely wrong about our ability to exploit brain
cryopreservation research, or the potential profitability of the company
that owns the technology, it is still *critically* important for us to
put together a well-funded brain cryopreservation research program in
order to improve our chances of survival.

---Saul Kent


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