Lifeboat Foundation

21st Century Medicine (21CM) is a cryobiology research company whose core mission is to develop a cryopreservation protocol sufficiently benign that whole, donated human organs could be vitrified (stored below −130 degrees Celsius without ice formation) and rewarmed when needed for transplantation –an incredibly ambitious goal that has so far eluded medical researchers. 21CM’s scientists are the original pioneers of whole organ vitrification and have been diligently working on the technique for decades. A significant milestone of their progress toward that goal is their demonstration work on rabbit kidneys. Two of their most relevant publications are “Cryopreservation of organs by vitrification: perspectives and recent advances” (Fahy, Wowk, Wu, Phan, Rasch, Chang & Zendejas 2004) and “Physical and biological aspects of renal vitrification” (Fahy, Wowk, Pagotan, Chang, Phan, Thomson & Phan 2009). These papers are a fantastic resource for anyone interested in just how difficult it is to cryopreserve large organs (and by extension whole animals) for long-term storage with the intent on later recovery of biological function. In short, it is incredibly difficult but progress is slowly being made.

The state-of-the-art whole organ vitrification techniques developed by 21CM are the basis of the human cryopreservation protocols used by some cryonics companies (e.g. Alcor). This is made clear in Alcor’s 2004 publication in the New York Academy of Sciences “The Arrest of Biological Time as a Bridge to Engineered Negligible Senescence” (Lemler, Harris, Platt & Huffman 2004).

Continue reading “21CM Cryopreservation Eval Page Foundation” »

Until the day he died, in 2011, Robert Ettinger hoped humanity would figure out a way to cheat death. Today, his body is stored in a chamber filled with liquid nitrogen and frozen to −196 °C. He lies in cryopreservation at the Cryonics Institute in Michigan—which he founded—alongside his late mother, his first and second wives, and 150 other deceased.

Ettinger, known as the “father of cryonics,” popularized the idea in his 1962 book The Prospect of Immortality. (Isaac Asimov, the renowned biochemist and science-fiction writer, helped Ettinger publish the book.) Cryonicists believe that technology will sufficiently advance to a point where cells can be rejuvenated and the aging process reversed. In practice, legally deceased patients arrive at a cryonics facility packed in ice. Cryonicists interrupt the dying process by draining the blood from the body and perfusing the corpse with a mixture of anti-freeze and organ-preserving chemicals, known as cryoprotective agents. The body is then transformed into a vitrified state and lowered into a below-freezing chamber filled with liquid nitrogen, where it lies in wait for a future generation to restore it.

Continue reading “Inside Cryonics: Will These Bodies Come Back From Death?” »

Cryonicists are banking on the idea that future technology will allow preserved bodies to be brought back to life.

Wondering if people can be brought back from cryonics freezing and still function as normal? Chick this out.

Justin Smith, 26, was brought back to life after being found with no pulse in the snow.

Continue reading “‘Frozen’ Man Brought Back to Life” »

21st Century Medicine has developed an entire platform technology focused on the creation and commercialization of hypothermic preservation and cryopreservation techniques that enable protection, preservation, transportation, storage & future use of valuable living systems. These developments have taken science far beyond conventional preservation limits. 21CM scientists continue to prove long-term protection and preservation of complex living systems is not only possible, but commercially viable.

It means that a vital link has been created that we call “Bio Logistics”.

Biopharmaceutical companies get a larger window in which to test new drug candidates on viable premade and cryopreserved tissue slices that function like fresh.

This week on The #GSPodcast Stephen Knight talks to microbiologist João Pedro de Magalhães (@jpsenescence) about Cryonics. They discuss the fear of dying, the science behind freezing humans, the implications for religion, technological advancements in the field and much, much more!

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Continue reading “Ep#141 – Cryonics: Surviving Death” »

A terminally ill patient who opted for assisted death has undergone cryonic preservation at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. This preservation—the first of its kind—signifies an important milestone for cryonics advocates, who argue that the right to death, paradoxically, is a potential pathway to an eternal life.

On October 30, 2018, Alcor performed its 164th cryopreservation. It was an otherwise unremarkable moment for the nonprofit organization, save for the way Norman Hardy of Mountain View, California met his demise. Hardy was diagnosed with terminal metastatic prostate cancer, and it had spread to his bones and lungs. As noted in Alcor’s case summary, his “pain had been poorly managed,” so he opted for assisted death, which was legalized in California in 2016 through the End of Life Options Act (EOLOA).

The more I read about cryonics—i.e. freezing yourself after death—the more I realized it’s something we should all be talking about.