Are you ready to spend $200,000 in order to live after you’re “dead?” New technological advancement in cryonics by Alcor has led to the use of preservation of a person who can no longer be supported by “ordinary medicine.” Unlike the usage of ice/freezing in common science fiction movies, cryonics uses vitrification as a process to preserve vital organs. Vitrification uses cryoprotectants, a high concentration of chemicals, that allows the tissue to be cooled to low temperatures without the formation of ice. During this process, the water inside the cell is replaced with chemicals, preventing cells from bursting while being deep cooled at around -140° C.
This process is based on the biological meaning of death, not the colloquial one. Scientifically death occurs 4 to 6 minutes after the heart stops working as the “cell structure and the chemistry” of the body becomes so disordered that “no technology could restore the original state.” Therefore, technically speaking, cryonics preserves living people, not dead people, since ideally, the procedure begins within the first one or two minutes after the heart stops working.
It all sounds great, except for one minor detail. As of now Alcor has no way of bringing their patients out of the vitrificated state. Alcor is hoping that by mid-21st century, it will be possible to recover the patients who are preserved by the company. The company states that those suffering from a disease that has no cure today, could be vitrified and brought back later in time when there is a cure.
Cryonics has not been 100% guaranteed to work, but with new technological evolutions, anything in this world is possible. The field of molecular nanotechnology is quickly expanding opening up endless possbilities, literally. There are also many common problems such as the inability to verify results, lack of volunteers, limited support from mainstream science and government restrictions. But the idea behind cryopreservation does seem credible as the techniques have preserved the “fine structure” of the human brain. Moreover, both blood vessels and entire kidneys have been recovered successfully after being vitrified, providing hope for further research.
