Freeze a person after death. Cryogenic freezing - is there a chance to wait for a revival? Photo report from the cryo-storage: Modern medicine and healthcare
And is it legal at all?
"Forget everything you know about life and just open your eyes..."
This is the slogan for the famous film with Tom Cruise "Vanilla Sky". In the film, the hero dies and is placed in a cryocapsule* in which he lies peacefully and has wonderful dreams. In reality, things are a little different than in the movies. You will not be allowed to dream. “You just fall asleep and wake up. For you, time of hundreds of years will fly by like a moment, ”says Maxim Andrakovsky, head of the Crio Life cryofreezing company.
*Cryocapsule - a place for cryopreservation and further preservation of the body until defrosting. Cryonics is the preservation of people, animals or only the brain in a state of deep cooling for subsequent revival and possible cure in the future.
However, no one can guarantee that you will ever wake up. And no one promises that your memories and your personality as a whole will be preserved after the “ice dream”. How can you legally make money by freezing people, and most importantly, why do people do this? And many more questions: how much does it cost to freeze yourself until better times? Where will my body be kept? Can you freeze your beloved dog too? Read on for answers to this and more.
After unsuccessful experiments on frogs, individual human cells and baboons, deep freezing technologies have gone far ahead, and cryofirms have developed and multiplied. Now anyone who wishes can secure eternal life by paying 1.5 million rubles (the price of cryonics at Crio Life as of 08/25/15).
In Russia, more than 134 people (as of 2014) turned to cryonics centers, and 34 of them have already frozen and are waiting in the wings. In the United States, this figure for 2011 was 1832 people, of which 206 people have already been cryonized. It can be assumed that now this figure has increased significantly. What can I say, even Walt Disney wanted to freeze, although then it is not clear whose remains rest in the Forest Lawn cemetery.
It is worth noting that those who want to feel immortality are not very worried about the high price of the procedure, the lack of safe defrosting technology, and the freezing itself, as well as a complete contradiction to traditional burial.
Of the currently existing companies specializing in cryofreezing, Alcor, Trans Time, the Institute of Cryonics and KrioRus stand out. Now on the market new organization Crio Life, which also opened a franchise for those wishing to join the business of the future. The cost of such a franchise offer is 150 thousand rubles, and the investment for launching the project varies from 50 to 100 thousand rubles.
However, before opening a business for freezing people, it is worth clarifying some legal points. All of these companies are considered to carry out non-licensed research and development activities and operate as non-profit organizations. As a rule, they all cooperate with scientific laboratories and research centers. In order to conclude franchising agreements, the company creates a limited liability company, on whose behalf agreements are concluded with the franchisee.
Speaking about the legal side of cryonics, one should not forget that the public is skeptical about such a kind of burial and often accuses such companies of fraud. However, in fact, there is no basis for such accusations, if the cryofirm does not show you fake videos and does not tell fictitious stories about the resurrection of people from the cryochamber. Also, the organization should not promise you a 100% rise from the dead, and a magical cure in a specific timeframe (considering the research results at the present time). In order not to regard the actions of a cryocompany as fraud, it should not trick you into signing a contract without justifying its promises.
However, representatives of cryonics companies assure that the clients who contact them are perfectly aware of everything and realize that they are investing in science, and that the project to revive people is very long-term. The main desire of the "patients" to start new life in a new reality. People come to this desire for various reasons: someone could not cope with their life problems, someone died too early, etc. Moreover, to our questions about the legal status of resurrected people, about controversial issues of inheritance and other legal difficulties of yesterday's dead, the head of Crio Life, Maxim Andrakovsky, unequivocally answers that everything has already been thought out and there will be no problems.
In addition to the legal, there is a financial issue. As we have already said, to freeze yourself completely in Crio Life costs 1.5 million rubles, in Kriorus human cryopreservation costs 36 thousand dollars, brain freezing is 12 thousand dollars, and the eternal life of your pet will cost from 10 up to 36 thousand dollars, depending on their volume and weight. In turn, in Alcor, the cryonics service is equal to 200 thousand dollars - the whole person, and the brain - 80 thousand dollars. All these sums are made up of the cost of the substance with which you are cryonized, the capsule in which you “sleep”, and the services of specialists.
As for the territorial location of the repositories of the bodies of the fallen asleep, in Russia they are located in the near Moscow region, in the Urals, and it is planned to open in Siberia.
However, despite the fact that cryostorage facilities are located on the territory of Russia, the population of the country itself is not yet very accepting of such unconventional methods of burial, and the main clients of such companies are still Europeans and Americans. Although on the website of the American "Alcor" you can find a whole section devoted to answers to questions of a religious nature, for example, what happens to the soul during cryo-freezing, when and where it separates, etc. By the way, even the development of a franchise network of cryogenic companies in Russia is aimed more at popularizing this so far alien procedure in the country than at increasing the profits of cryogenic companies.
So, you can earn money by cryonics, freeze yourself after death, or join the ranks of researchers and help the world know the joys and difficulties of resurrection. The decision is yours.
"I remember. Someone died. It was me."
Cryonics is a chance for a dying person to extend their life into the future. To do this, after special procedures (), people are immersed in a low-temperature environment, where almost everything stops chemical reactions. The first cryopatient, American professor James Bedford, has been stored for almost 50 years without any signs of change.
Properly done procedures and reliable storage give hope that in the future, using various technologies, it will be possible to restore the brain and body cells of cryopatients or replace them with similar, but healthy ones. In this case, in terms of modern science, the cryopatient will be resuscitated, he will come to life.
You can schedule all these procedures for yourself or your relative with the help of. We can quickly and efficiently cryopreserve a person, reliably preserve his body until the time when it becomes possible to revive cryopatients. We strive to restore our patients to a new life. This is our mission. You did the right thing by choosing to contact us. Cryonics is a chance for revitalization in the future.
Our offers
To save a person, his personality, it is necessary to save, first of all, his brain. It is in the human brain that all neurons and the connecting elements between them are stored. From the point of view of science, it is in the brain that a person’s memory and most of the information about his individual characteristics are stored.
You can order cryonics only of the human brain. It's called neuropreservation. It is also possible to cryopreserve the entire human body in KrioRus. Our proposals for these positions are covered more fully below.
Also, we recommend that you in advance while the future cryopatient is still in good health. It's essential improve the quality of cryonics, by reducing the time required for all organizational steps on the day of cryopreservation: persuading relatives, reaching agreements with doctors, ritual and other services, transportation time from the morgue to the operating room, etc. As a result, the viability of the stored patient cells will be much higher.
Whole body preservation
To some people, the preservation of a human brain or head seems somewhat unusual. For those who appreciate the habitual way of life, and also do not want to surprise relatives and friends, the preservation of the entire body of a cryopatient is more suitable. If you prefer to keep the human body completely, we are ready to do it for you.
All procedures for cryonics of the human body are essentially the same as for neurosaving, but due to specific features, perfusion and storage in this case become much more complicated, which increases the cost of cryonics services. Therefore, the cost of preserving the body of a cryopatient is this moment 36 000 USD(or equivalent in rubles).
Approximately half of Russian cryopatients choose whole-body preservation. We have sufficient experience in this kind of services.
Neuropreservation
Neuropreservation is the preservation of only the human brain at ultra-low temperatures.
Neuropreservation is usually interested in people who are well acquainted with new technologies and technological and scientific forecasts. Neuropreservation is an option for those who understand that a person's personality - according to modern scientific views - is stored in his brain, and who expects that in the future a new body will be grown for a cryopatient as a collection of organs (for example, from the patient's own stem cells) or created artificial. In all these areas, active work is underway in research medical centers around the world.
In this case, we save the client's brain or head (at the request of the customer) after his death, performing the highest quality perfusion possible and ensuring maximum storage reliability. The patient's body after the perfusion procedure is buried or cremated, the cost of this may or may not be included in the price of the contract with the cryogenic company.
The cost of neuropreservation is 15,000 USD (or equivalent in rubles or other currency) for Russians and 18,000 USD for foreign clients.
The most recommended BASIC OPTION of payment is the full one-time payment of the Agreement upon its conclusion. This option gives the best guarantee cryoclients, as it gives the right to cryopreservation of a newly deceased person by his relatives or to cryopreservation of the client himself or his relative at any time in the event of death, whenever it occurs.
VIP cryopreservation
If you are a wealthy person, you can use the VIP option. To do this, you can make any sponsorship contribution from 150,000 USD and more.
Advantages:
1. You get a cryo-bracelet, this will allow you to track your vital activity. In the event of death, a rapid response team immediately leaves. This will make it possible to perform cryopreservation with the highest quality, ensuring the minimum time since biological death and the maximum safety of neurons.
2. You contribute to the development of cryonics in Russia and in the world. We will use your donation for Scientific research, which will bring closer the moment when you and your family will wake up from cryo-sleep and continue to live a full and healthy life.
3. At your request, your name will forever be included in the list of Trustees of our organization on a special page on our website and on a special plate in the office of our organization.
4. If you deposit more than 400,000 USD, at your request, there is an on-call mode at no additional charge - see above. This maximizes the quality of cryo-preservation for you. Also, you receive a GOLD cryo-bracelet.
Scientists from the American Institute of Cryonics said that in 50-100 years they will learn how to resurrect dead people. The revived will be able not only to return to their habitual life, but also to rejuvenate their bodies for several decades, writes National Geographic.
About cryopreservation
Note that only a frozen corpse can be resurrected. Today, the procedure for freezing the bodies of the dead, cryopreservation, is carried out by two American companies- Institute of Cryonics and Alcor Life Extension Foundation, as well as a Russian company KrioRus.
You can freeze the body after the doctors ascertained the death of a person - it occurs within 2-15 minutes after the heart stops. Then the body is placed in a special ice bath and gradually cooled to a temperature of minus 130 °C. At the same time, specialists pump out all the blood from the patient and replace it with a special chemical solution. Next, they cool the body of the deceased to minus 196 ° C and place it in a special capsule for storage.
Opponents of cryonics believe that it is impossible to bring a person back to life even after this procedure: so far no one has been able to successfully freeze and unfreeze such important organs as the liver and heart. In turn, employees of the Institute of Cryonics argue that the main thing in this process is to preserve the DNA of a deceased person and his brain. Stem cells help restore body cells and organs.
“After cardiac arrest, you have about five and a half minutes to half an hour to revive the person. But it all depends on the temperature and how long people lived in general. Our technologies allow us to preserve DNA and the brain. Stem cells can be injected into frozen patients to repair damaged cells. I see no reason why older people should not be brought back to life in 50-100 years, perhaps even younger and healthier than they were at the time of death,” the researchers say.
There is a demand
It is noteworthy that the demand for cryopreservation is great - about 2 thousand people have already applied for freezing, 160 bodies have already undergone the procedure. Note that this pleasure is not cheap: in the US and Russia, freezing costs about $36,000.
Note that the first person who decided to freeze his body after death was the American professor James Bedford. For nearly 50 years, he has been cryopreserved by the Alcor Life Extension Foundation.
Candidate of Biological Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Biomedical Technologies and Testing with Pilot Production of the Center for Cell Technologies of the Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
To date, there are no such methods. The death of an organism, its individual organs or cells is a terminal process. The cell dies, another one takes its place, which is the result of division, including stem cells, which are found in all organs. The organ died - if you please, replace it completely (transplantation) or replace its functions (for example, dialysis). But if the brain is dead, then it can no longer be restored. Its individual cells - yes, but not the whole organ. Death should be considered as a stoppage of physiological processes, primarily metabolism, which lead to structural disturbances at the cellular level.
The life of cells after freezing can be restored, but they must be alive before that. In addition, all human tissues and organs contain a large number of water. As you know, water expands when frozen. This expansion damages organs at the cellular level. Therefore, when freezing, special methods are used to remove excess water from cells. This method is well developed for cell culture and allows obtaining up to 95% of live cells after thawing. But to remove the fluid from the entire organ and keep the cells alive - this problem has not yet been completely solved.
Humanity has been moving towards the restoration of entire organs with the help of stem cells for more than a year. This task, for obvious reasons, is very relevant, first of all, not for cryonics, but for traditional medicine. I suppose that in the next 10-15 years it will be implemented to one degree or another. There are simply organized organs that can be restored right now, for example, the skin, and there are much more complex ones - the liver, kidneys, and brain. 3D printing is already being used here. But before the "connection" of such organs to the nervous and hematopoietic systems of the body is still far away.
DNA-only recovery sounds fantastic so far. There are no such methods. But, theoretically, if a person learns to model the entire cellular machinery for the regulation of gene and protein expression, then this is possible in the future. When? The question is very complicated: they planned to fly to Mars 20 years ago... With the current intensive pace of development of biomedicine, such experimental work should be expected in the next 30-40 years. But before the restoration of organs or the whole organism, a huge amount of work must be done.
The most unrealistic thing about cryonics is the restoration of personality. If the brain died, then its cells died, the connections between neurons were broken. It is they who determine personality and intelligence. There are no methods to revive dead neurons and restore lost connections between them. It is possible to renew a heart that has worked for 90 years with a “new” one, grown from the cells of the same person, and these are quite realistic prospects.
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Cryogenic freezing is something out of the realm of fantasy. At least that's how it might have seemed a couple of decades ago. Now, many are seriously interested in the question of whether it will be possible to freeze oneself at one moment, and then “order” awakening in the future? And since this topic is interesting and relevant, it is worth trying to find the answer.
Terminology
It is worth starting with a consideration of such a concept as cryonics. It comes from the Greek word κρύος, which translates as "frost" or "cold". This is a technology that makes it possible to keep animals and people in a state of deep cooling. They do this in the hope that in the future they will be able to revive and even cure.
However, to date, cryogenic freezing of people, as well as large animals, cannot be reversible. This means that once "preserved" them, in the future it will not be possible to revive them. The same goes for the frozen brain and head. Why? Because the cryogenic freezing of a person occurs only after his legally recorded death. Otherwise, it would be considered murder.
But why then all this? The fact is that some scientists believe that theoretically is not final. And they hope that one day technology will reach a level of development that will allow such frozen people to be revived.
Many actively support this idea. In 2016 it was compiled open letter, aimed at supporting cryonics, and signed by 69 scientists from around the world. But the very hypothesis concerning the possible restoration of information contained in the brain after death is considered unprovable.
Evidence of Probability
Of course, no one would argue that cryogenic freezing of a person is possible without strong evidence.
In 1966, for example, it was possible to prove that the brain restores electrical activity after freezing to -20 °C. In 1974, an experiment was conducted, during which the gray matter partially restored its activity after 7 years of storage under appropriate conditions.
In 1984, it was proved that large organs do not undergo structural damage during freezing. And in 1986, scientists found out that large mammals can be brought back to life if they stay in a state of clinical death at a temperature of -3 °C.
In 2002, an experiment was conducted, during which it turned out that the brain retains memory, even if it is cooled to -10 ° C. In 2004, doctors performed a successful kidney transplant after freezing them at -45°C and then warming them up.
The next experiment, conducted in 2006, proved that complex neural connections retain their vital activity even during vitrification (transition of a liquid into a glassy state).
In 2015, the world learned that the animal, subjected to freezing and rebirth, has not lost its memory. In the same year, they conducted an experiment on cryonics and restoration of the whole brain of a mammal. The researchers assured: everything went perfectly.
How do they think in our country?
Cryogenic in Russia is perceived by many as a fraud. This was repeatedly stated by the chairman of the commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences, dealing with the fight against falsification of research and pseudoscience. Freezing is considered by many to be a commercial undertaking that does not have any scientific justification, as well as a fantasy that speculates on people's hopes and dreams of eternal life.
But at the same time, there are supporters. They say that now, of course, there are doubts about this, but in 30-50 years such opportunities may open up, thanks to which it will really be possible to restore a person from a frozen state. And by the way, about 15% of Russians would not be against cryonics for themselves or their relatives - this was found out thanks to a survey conducted by the Levada Center.
KrioRus
12 years ago, a company called KrioRus was formed in Russia. Their activity is cryogenic freezing. That is, the storage of the bodies of their deceased "patients" in liquid nitrogen. Moreover, the company offers freezing of both the whole body and only the head.
By the way, KrioRus is the only organization in Russia that freezes pets. To date, three birds (including a goldfinch and a titmouse), 2 cats, 6 cats, 7 dogs and 1 chinchilla are waiting for their future in their vault. You need to love your pet very much to decide on this. Because cryogenically freezing an ordinary cat costs $12,000.
The same price is set for the preservation of the human brain. Freezing the entire body costs $36,000. The so-called VIP-freeze is also available at the Issue price - from $ 150,000. Of the advantages - a cryo-bracelet, thanks to which a person's vital activity can be tracked. In the event of a death, a rapid response team is dispatched to the scene. There are still some "advantages" (if it is appropriate to say so in this context), but they can be found on an individual basis.
Training
Cryogenic freezing of the body is very difficult, which is logical. Therefore, preparation is extremely important, which involves the manufacture of special solutions. If there is already a ready-made concentrate, then it will be possible to make 32 liters from it, which are necessary for cryonics of the head.
When the solution is ready, it is passed through vacuum sterilization, which is carried out using special filters. Since cryogenic freezing is not very popular in Russia so far, all liquid substances are frozen until they are needed. When the "patient" appears, the solution is thawed and the procedure begins.
Next stage
The first thing they do with human body after death - cool it to 0 ° C. This is so important that if the "client" turned to the specialists in advance, he is advised to prepare ice packs. After all, immediately after the heart of a person stops, the destruction of his body begins. All processes that were previously responsible for maintaining life stop their work. And either ice or a coolant of chemical origin can stop the destruction of the body.
After that, specialists get access to the circulatory system. This is usually done by either a pathologist or a surgeon. Or a specialist of a company that provides such a service as cryogenic freezing.
The photos that are publicly available today show that the procedure is very similar to a conventional therapeutic operation. In its course, specialists gain access to the carotid artery. This is where the second stage ends and the last - the most important - begins.
Connecting the Perfusion System
After all the previously described steps, special tubes are inserted into the arteries and veins of the body. With their help, blood is excreted from the body. And the body is filled with the solution. To control the process, use an instrument such as a refractometer. With its help, it is possible to identify the percentage of the concentration of the solution in the container (which in this case is the body).
60% - this is exactly the degree of saturation established by experts. As soon as this indicator is reached, the procedure is completed. The blood is completely replaced by solutions. Even the smallest part of it should not be allowed to remain in the body. Because in this case, the processes of change will accelerate.
Here, however, is the whole answer to the question of how cryogenic freezing occurs. The body is then placed in storage. The operation itself lasts approximately 4 hours, 6 specialists work on the patient, including 2 surgeons and 4 assistants.
procedure alive
Many are keenly interested in the question: "Is it possible to cryogenically freeze a living person, and not a dead person?" Well, one thing can be said with certainty: at the moment it is not practiced. At the beginning of the article it was already said that such a procedure is tantamount to murder. But there is more information.
Many may think, they say, yes, revival is possible if a living person were subjected to freezing. However, this procedure is carried out with a dead body! Doesn't this seem strange?
The experts have the answer. They assure that there is no fundamental difference between the living and the dead in this context. At the initial stage, for sure. Because any person within 15 minutes after death is considered, in principle, alive - with the help of modern technologies it can be brought back to life. And statements that irreversible changes begin to occur in the brain are a myth. In any case, specialists from cryocenters cite refutations in the form of complex scientific theories. But still, for now, freezing a living person is impossible.
The youngest patient
In 2015, perhaps the most unusual cryogenic freezing of a person was carried out. A photo of the "patient" is provided below. This is a 2-year-old girl from Thailand named Matherin Naowaratpong. She is the youngest person ever to undergo such specific "preservation".
The baby died two years ago, 01/08/2015. The cause was a brain tumor. 12 operations, 40 sessions of chemical and radiation therapy did not help. But her parents, having frozen the body and brain of the girl (80% of the left hemisphere of which she had lost by the time of death), firmly believe that Maternal will someday be brought back to life. The entire procedure cost her parents $280,000 + $700 annually for storage.
Non-standard fraud
In 2009, a very interesting incident happened. Although the news sounded very ordinary: a fraudster from New York deceived investors in the amount of $ 5 million.
But here's the point. This man, whose name is Vileon Chey, somehow managed to convince investors that he was investing the money allocated to him in profitable foreign exchange funds, precious metals and oil. However, he spent $150,000 to freeze the body of his wife, who also died in 2009, and the rest to hide. He was never found.
An example of amazing enthusiasm
The photo below is of a 23-year-old neuroscience student named Kim Suozzi. In the early 2010s, she was diagnosed with a terrible diagnosis - brain cancer. What did the girl do? She turned to social networks for help. Having told her story, she began to raise money in order to freeze herself - until a cure for cancer or methods of one hundred percent treatment of this disease is found.
The campaign was a success. The girl was helped to raise a huge amount - many futurists and even the Venturizm society participated in this. On January 17, 2013, Kim fell into a state of clinical death. On the same day, her body was cryopreserved.
Mass cryopreservation project
He exists. But so far this project concerns only animals. What is the point? In realizing the prospects for the conservation of many species of animals. Even the vault, created specifically for this, was decided to be called the "Frozen Ark". There are DNA of those animals that are already extinct or are on the verge. Scientists believe that thanks to the genetic material and modern technologies it will be possible to clone non-existent species. And it seems real, because in 2009 a successful experiment was conducted.
Spanish scientists organized the most difficult experiment, as a result of which a cub of the Pyrenean ibex was born! But this species completely disappeared in 2000. The DNA of the last deceased mammal was preserved - it was transferred to the egg of a domestic goat, devoid of its own genetic material. The embryo was then transplanted into a female of another subspecies of the Spanish ibex. 439 such procedures were performed. Of these, only 7 ended in pregnancy, and one - in childbirth. But the goat turned out to be sick and died after 7 minutes due to breathing problems. And yet, scientists do not lose hope and continue to improve their approaches and technologies.
What are the prospects?
Experts who know how cryogenic freezing works and continue to develop this area love to share their assumptions regarding the role of this procedure in the near future.
They are sure that in order to restore a person as a person, only his brain will be needed. Because it is a repository of memories, skills and knowledge. As for body modeling, this is a matter of technique and the wishes of the person himself. And to find out what the "client" looked like, it will be enough just one DNA cell taken from the brain. Specialists will analyze it, reveal the appearance of a person, clone organs and bring the person back to life. But all this is just speculation about the probable future. So far, a 100-year contract has been signed with frozen patients. But if until that moment a method of revival is not invented, then the contract will automatically be extended until the times when it will be possible.
In general, cryotechnologists are confident that there are prospects. Perhaps this procedure is a step towards eventual immortality. But how it will be in reality - time will tell.
