Title : Cryogenics firm to start freezing people before they die
link : Cryogenics firm to start freezing people before they die
Cryogenics firm to start freezing people before they die
- Freezing someone alive constitutes killing but may be legal in Switzerland
- Proponents of this practice say bodies could be thawed to continue living
- To date the firm has cryogenically preserved the bodies and brains of 54 people
- Company has launched a cryptocurrency offering to raise money for the centre
A Russian cryogenics firm wants to freeze people before they die in an effort to bring them back to life in the future.
KrioRus is raising money to open a lab in Switzerland - where euthanasia is legal - to carry out the controversial procedure.
By freezing a body before death, scientists say they can avoid extensive brain damage, increasing the chance that the body can some day be brought back to life.
If plans go ahead, this would be the first time a company would freeze a body that is not biologically dead.
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Currently freezing someone alive constitutes killing them but in Switzerland euthanasia is legal and proponents of this practice say bodies could be thawed to continue living their lives. This image shows one of the firms cryo-coffins being transported
Cryogenics is the art of freezing bodies by preserving a dead body with liquid nitrogen.
Currently, cryopreservation has only been performed when someone is legally dead.
The freezing process must begin as soon as the patient dies in order to prevent brain damage, with facilities currently only available in Russia and the US.
In the procedure, the body is cooled in an ice bath to gradually reduce its temperature bit by bit.
Experts then drain the blood and replace it with an anti freeze fluid to stop harmful ice crystals forming in the body.
However, Moscow-based cryonics KrioRus has now launched a cryptocurrency offering to raise money for its new Swiss centre, which people from around the world could come to just before they died, writes News Week.
The idea is that the body will already been alive when revived, which could make it easier than bringing back bodies from the dead .
It could also avoid the last-minute rush to put the body on ice and carry out the vitrification.
The company already has 50 human bodies or heads and 20 animals frozen in tanks in Russia - but these were all frozen after death.
They are located inside a modest, unheated warehouse in a quiet snow-covered village surrounded by private houses some 47 miles (76 km) northeast of the Kremlin.
The process is unproven to work and extremely controversial. Many experts say there is no hope of being brought back to life.
Organs such as the heart and kidneys have never been successfully frozen and thawed, so it is even less likely a whole body – and the brain – could be without irreversible damage.
In theory their body would be re-awoken in decades or centuries when there is a cure for the disease they were about to die from. This image shows flowers being laid in one of its cryo-coffins
Currently, the firm charges $36,000 (£27,000) to freeze a body and $12,000 (£9,000) to freeze a head.
It also offers cryopreservation services for your pets, including £8,234 ($10,600) to preserve a 'little cat' and £20,000 ($25,800) to preserve a 'big dog'.
Remains are stored for decades, centuries or even longer in large Dewar flask deep freezers.
However, a UK company believes the cost of the procedure will rapidly drop over the next decade, to just £5,000 ($6,572) for 250 years, helping make it a common practice.
If plans go ahead, this would be the first time the company would work on a body that is not biologically dead. Remains are currently stored for decades, centuries or even longer in large Dewar flask deep freezers
Stem Protect estimates that costs could more than halve over the next five to ten years.
Speaking to MailOnline, Mark Hall, company spokesman said: 'It's a service we could offer today, just not at that price.
'It would probably cost around £50,000 to £75,000 ($65,000 to $100,000).
'It's a bit like Moore's law, technology improves over time, and as more and more facilities are built it will get cheaper and cheaper.
The company has launched a cryptocurrency offering to raise money for its new Swiss centre, which people from around the world could come to. Pictured is one of their coffins
'I think in a few years it will be possible to have whole warehouses that are one giant facility, although you wouldn't want to walk through them. That would significantly reduce the price.'
At the end of August KrioRus also announced plans to blast the dead into space after their bodies have been frozen.
With space a premium here on Earth, experts at KrioRus see outer space as a 'land of opportunity' for future burials.
The cost of preserving a body to stay in space has been slated to start at around £240,000 ($250,000).
The cryonics company says frozen bodies, DNA samples and even the bodies of pets could be blasted into the atmosphere under the plans.
Since 2005, KrioRus says it has frozen the bodies and brains of 54 people, eight dogs, nine cats, three birds, and incredibly, even one pet chinchilla, at their facility
Anti-freeze compounds are injected into the corpse to stop cells being damaged. The hope is that medical science will advance enough to bring the patient back to life. Pictured is there centre outside Moscow
WHAT IS CRYOPRESERVATION?
WHAT IS CRYOPRESERVATION?
The deep freezing of a body to - 196C (-321F). Anti-freeze compounds are injected into the corpse to stop cells being damaged. The hope is that medical science will advance enough to bring the patient back to life. Two main US organisations carry out 'cryonics' – Alcor, in Arizona, and Cryonics Institute, Michigan.
HOW IS IT MEANT TO WORK?
The process can currently only take place once the body is legally dead. Ideally, it begins within two minutes of the heart stopping – and no more than 15. The body must be packed in ice and injected with chemicals to reduce blood clotting. At the cryonics facility, it is cooled to just above OC and the blood is replaced with a solution to preserve organs. The body is injected with another solution to stop ice crystals forming in organs and tissues, then cooled to - 130C. The final step is to place the body into a container which is lowered into a tank of liquid nitrogen at - 196C.
Cryonpreservation is the deep freezing of a body to - 196°C (-321°F). Anti-freeze compounds are injected into the corpse to stop cells being damaged
WHAT'S THE CHANCE OF SUCCESS?
Many experts say there is none. Organs such as the heart and kidneys have never been successfully frozen and thawed, so it is even less likely a whole body – and the brain – could be without irreversible damage.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Charges at the Cryonics Institute, where the girl has been stored, start at around $35,000 (£28,000) to 'members' for whole-body cryopreservation. The girl was charged £37,000, which may include costs such as transportation. Rival group Alcor charges $200,000 (£161,000) for whole-body preservation.
HOW LONG BEFORE PEOPLE CAN BE BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE?
Cryonics organisations claim it could be decades or even centuries. However Medical experts say once cells are damaged during freezing and turned to 'mush' they cannot be converted back to living tissue, any more than you can turn a scrambled egg back into a raw egg.
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