Cryonics FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Cryonics

This FAQ about Cryonics was compiled and written by Tim Freeman tim@infoscreen.com with numerous contributions by others.

2-1. Has anyone been successfully revived from cryonic suspension?: No. Fortunately, successful cryonics is a two-step process:...

2-2. What advances need to be made before people frozen now have a chance of being revived? (Cryonics): A number of advances in basic areas of research such as medicine,...

2-3. Is there any government or university supported research on cryonics specifically?: There was suspended animation research sponsored by NASA as late ...

2-4. What is the procedure for freezing people? (Cryonics): Read an account of a cryonic suspension. Briefly, circulation ...

2-5. How can one get a more detailed account of a suspension? (Cryonics): Cryomsgs 601 and 602 are The Transport of Patient A-1312 (28K bytes)...

2-6. Is there damage from oxygen deprivation during a suspension? (Cryonics): Not if the suspension happens under good circumstances. One of ...

2-7. Do memories require an ongoing metabolism to support them, like RAM in a computer? (Cryonics): No. Here's a relevant quote, supplied by Brian Wowk:...

2-8. If these frozen people are revived, will it be easy to cure them of whatever disease made them clinically die? (Cryonics): Repairing the freezing damage looks much harder than curing ...

2-9. If I'm frozen and then successfully revived, will my body be old? (Cryonics): No. Old age is a disease that ought to be easier to cure than ...

2-10. Why is freezing in liquid nitrogen better than other kinds of preservation, such as drying or embalming?: Straightforward chemical arguments lead to the conclusion ...

2-11. What is vitrification?: (Next paragraph copied from CRYOMSG 6 posted by Kevin Brown)...

2-12. How is the baboon? Did it live? Any brain damage? (Cryonics): According to Art Quaife as of 14 Jul 92, the baboon is well and ...

2-13. Who has successfully kept dogs cold for hours? Did they survive? Any brain damage?: Several people have achieved that. The first cryonics organization ...

2-14. Who froze the roundworms? What happened? (Cryonics): (This text is quoted with slight modifications from CRYOMSG 790 ...

2-15. What were the circumstances under which cat brains produced normal-looking brain waves after being frozen?: This was reported by I. Suda and A.C. Kito in Nature, 212, 268-270 (1966)....

2-16. Would it be possible to use some improvement on modern CAT or MRI scanners to infer enough about the structure of a brain to reconstruct the memories and personality?: This was discussed on the cryonics mailing list some time back. ...

2-17. Does background radiation cause significant damage to suspendees? (Cryonics): No. Ralph Merkle addresses this in in the cryonet archive, ...

3-1. Are the frozen people dead? (Cryonics): Using the definitions in the glossary, they are legally ...

3-2. Is cryonics suicide?: No. People only get suspended if they are legally dead. ...

3-3. What about overpopulation? (Cryonics): At present, an insignificant fraction of the population ...

3-4. When are two people the same person? (Cryonics): Cryonics and, especially, the technologies required to ...

3-5. What if they repair the freezing damage (and install a new body, in the case of neurosuspension), and the resulting being acts and talks as though it were me, but it isn't really me?: The answer to this obviously depends on which notion ...

3-6. What would happen if people didn't age after reaching adulthood? (Cryonics): Ecology: We might be better stewards of this planet if ...

3-7. Would it be better to be suspended now or later? (Cryonics): In general, one should live as long as possible and be suspended ...

3-8. Why would anyone be revived? (Cryonics): CRFT gives a detailed answer on pages 46 - 47. ...

3-9. Is there a conflict between cryonics and religious beliefs?: If revival is possible, cryonic suspension is in no greater ...

3-10. Is attempting to extend life consistent with Christianity?: This answer quoted from the Q&A list in CRFT:...

4-1. Why do cryobiologists have such a low opinion of cryonics? How did this start, and how does it continue?: Cryobiologists are scientists who study the effects of cold on ...

4-2. Who made the statement about reviving a frozen person being similar to reconstructing the cow from hamburger? (Cryonics): The cryobiologist Arthur Rowe is responsible for promoting ...

4-3. What was the Dora Kent case? (Cryonics): Dora Kent is the mother of Saul Kent, a longtime supporter ...

4-4. What about that fellow in the news with the brain tumor? (Cryonics): His name is Thomas Donaldson. His tumor is not growing at present,...

5-1. What are the pros and cons of neurosuspension (only freezing the head)?: (The next two paragraphs are taken from CRYOMSG 6 posted by Kevin Brown.)...

5-2. How many people have chosen neurosuspension over whole-body suspension? (This question has only a partial answer.): The different organizations market neurosuspension differently, ...

6-1. How many people are frozen right now? (Cryonics): The July 1992 issue of Cryonics magazine, published by the ...

6-2. How is suspension paid for? (Cryonics): The person who makes the cryonics arrangements pays for suspension,...

6-3. How will reanimation be paid for? (Cryonics): The cryonics organization, relatives, or some charity will pay ...

6-4. What suspension organizations are available? (Cryonics): For a complete list of cryonics suspension organizations and ...

6-5. How can I get financial statements for the various organizations to evaluate their stability? (Cryonics): At this point the best option is to send them paper mail or ...

6-6. How hard will these people work to freeze me? (Cryonics): The Dora Kent case described above is an example. See question 4-3....

6-7. What obligations do the suspension organizations have to the people they have suspended? Will they pay for revival and rehabilitation?: Alcor's Consent for Cryonic Suspension states there are ...

6-8. How long has this been going on? (Cryonics): Robert Ettinger proposed the idea in The Prospect of ...

6-9. How much of the resources of the cryonics organizations are reserved for reviving patients?: Alcor's approach to this is discussed in detail in CRFT ...

6-10. How can uncooperative relatives derail suspensions? (Cryonics): Someone confronted with the death of a close relative is likely to ...

6-11. How should I deal with relatives who will not cooperate with my suspension arrangements? (Cryonics): Use a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care to prevent ...

6-12. What if my spouse does not approve of my suspension arrangements? (Cryonics): The legal maneuvers described in Question 6-11 apply here as well....

6-13. What practical things can I do to increase my chances of being suspended well? (Cryonics): Since no existing cryonics organization has the resources to establish ...

6-14. How can I pay for my own revival and rehabilitation, and keep some of my financial assets after revival? (Cryonics): The Reanimation Foundation is set up to enable you to take it with ...

6-15. Is Walt Disney frozen?: No. There was a time when all of the cryonics organizations ...

7-1. Why does cryonics cost so much?: Alcor has available a 15-page $3.00 reprint on The Cost of Cryonics....

7-2. Is anyone getting rich from cryonics? What are the salaries at these organizations like?: In December 1990, Cryonics magazine reported that the Board ...

8-1. How can I get more information? (Cryonics): Steve Bridge's Introduction to Cryonics gives a quick, three-...

8-2. What is a cryomsg? How do I fetch one?: There has been a cryonics mailing list since July 1988. To get ...

9-1 Words to Use (cryonics vocabulary): CRFT has a glossary on pp. 57 - 58....

9-1 Words Not to Use (cryonics vocabulary): corpsicle - Pejorative synonym for suspended person....

9-1 Words To Use In Jest (cryonics vocabulary): flexionally disabled - frozen ...

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