X-Message-Number: 9378
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 10:02:07 +0100
From:  (John de Rivaz)
Subject: Re: comparisons of criteria and dropouts

In article: <>  
writes:
(Charles Platt)
> Of course it's important to minimize ischemic time, but Mr. Ettinger's
> statement implies (to me) that if you have two patients, one treated 
> promptly with CI protocol, the other treated less promptly with 
> BioPreservation protocol, the first patient will be better preserved.
> 
> In fact no comparison of this type has ever been done, with people or
> animals.

surely such a comparison would be meaningless because the criteria for 
revival are pure conjecture at the present time?

(David Pizer)

> One trend that I have noticed in the last couple of years, is the 
> high rate of people cancelling their memberships (not switching - just
> dropping out).  So if 6 people sign up world wide in a month, and 5 people
> drop out, the net gain is not much.  Certainly the growth 
> rate of net gain is dropping.  Why?
> 
> One explanation is that a while ago, a lot of people funded their
> suspensions with term insurance.  When it comes up for renewal years 
> later, and they are older, the premiums are a lot higher than they had 
> thought (and/or could afford).  But I suspect that is not the main reason. 
> I don't know what it is.

Possibly also because the costs of suspension with all *but* CI have risen, 
so it is not just increase of premiums due to age but increase of sum 
assured that is needed. 

I am suprised that cryonics organisations do not *require* people taking out 
term insurance to have a regular saving plan as well.  A few tens of dollars 
a month into a technology mutual fund or unit trust over 20 years would 
(with hindsight) have done nicely. If in future this trend does not 
continute, maybe it is because humanity's technology boom has ended, which 
would also mean that cryonics would not work either, so nothing is lost.


>  It just doesn't make sense that a person would do all the
> work of filling out the paper work, getting funding in place, and the
> other work, and then change their minds several years later.


There is a worrying though that as people get older they come to accept 
and even want death. Therefore although you(45) may want to live on 
indefinitely, you(80) may be a block in the way. Obviously this not apply to 
everyone, eg Charlie Amlin. (read http://www.longevb.demon.co.uk/lr.htm and 
do a word search to find Bob Brakeman's article about him).  But it could 
happen to many people if they just sign up and then have very little to do 
with cryonics, probably not even bothering to read the magazines let alone 
the Internet.


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