Title: Chemo Suspension Problems
Subtitle: Cryonics Providers Remain Without an Alternative
Version 2.4 on 12.12.2008, by robomoon shintoist.com in Frankfurt a.M., Germany
Any experienced household maid is able to learn that ethanol can preserve remains of mammals including inner organs like kidneys and the brain. But it's hard to convince anyone that the human brain can be preserved in ethanol. Not many people think logical enough that -because humans are mammals- preserving human brains in ethanol offers a good chance of success.
Any elementary school graduate is able to learn that exclusion of air from milk and orange juice can preserve those organic items. But it's hard to convince anyone that brain cells can be preserved in a bucket of airtight epoxy. Not many people think logical enough that -because brain cells are organic- keeping air away from brain cells by a layer of epoxy resin offers a good chance of success.
As we know from the above examples about learning, not anyone is able to think logical enough for the building of this knowledge base. CI - http://cryonics.org/ -, Alcor - http://cryonics.net/ -, and KrioRus - http://kriorus.ru - are the only organizations who perform Cryonics including longterm suspension. Neither those established organizations nor other possible providers of longterm storage have enough volunteering members to access, collect, and evaluate the elementary resources necessary for the building of a knowledge base in the field of chemo suspension.
Resources
The 1st version of this article is in plain text. The 2nd version should be converted from ".TXT" to ".HTML" file format. There are only URL's, so in the 3rd version, a description of the links below should be added. Some of them refer to archeological finds without details about brain tissue.
http://www.archaeology.org/0801/topten/lyuba.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070607171134.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904145058.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611161038.htm
http://www.cryocdn.org/perma.html
http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/dsp.cgi?msg=7733
http://www.quantium.plus.com/lr/lr48.htm#Suggestions For Russian Permafrost
http://www.transtopia.org/plastination.html
http://www.benbest.com/misc/stbees.html
http://www.stbees.org.uk/history/stbeesman2.htm
http://www.depressedmetabolism.com/2008/02/25/better-biostasis-through-chemosuspension/
http://www.fightaging.org/archives/001427.php
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/12/991215072051.htm
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6939820.html
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5827511/description.html
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=3002649
Messages
Below are copies of robomoon's messages including extractions of replies that can be used as actual examples of real problems with chemo suspension.
--message #1--
12.9.08 "Permafrost burial and chemo suspension" to: Cryonics Society of Canada http://cryocdn.org by email
Actually, I'm trying to get into contract arrangements for a permafrost burial and chemo suspension of my head (in case of death). Since I'm always in a very bad income situation, I'm absolutely sure that (financially) there will be no regular cryonics services for me. But I don't know if I should contact Danila Medvedev or Mr. Alexey Potapov at Kriorus to find out if they can act as a chemo-provider for a permafrost burial of someone's head. That means to arrange the chemical fixation of a head by storage inside a tissue container together with ethanol and salt. The body can be fully destroyed while they could store the head in a container made of metal for a half year and change the ethanol at least once. Then they should seal the container and ship it to a northern part of Russia (Siberia perhaps) for a permafrost burial inside a grave in cold ground.
For later reanimation: It would be a wise strategy to put a tissue sample from my body (a hair including its root) inside dry glue or something, to store it in the provider's facility. If the grave can be discovered in a couple of decades or centuries, I suggest that the identity of the head can be verified with the tissue sample's DNA.
So I want you to find out if they could gain an interest in this special arrangement, because you are the experts who could easily make a contact with them at kriorus@mail.ru to explain my proposal. In any case, I'm interested in getting the following life-insurance from a Russian company when it is recommendable by Kriorus: Just for a single payment of Euro 3000 as a one-time fee. It must be arranged absolutely private and confidential and it must cover anything with a one-time fee. There can be no repeated payments (for e.g., monthly membership fees). That's because if my close relatives find out that I make those monthly payments, they would seriously force me to stop and to hand out that money to them. Actually, my wife and children demand most of my small monthly income and if they find out, they would forcefully demand that they are the beneficiaries of a life-insurance.
--end of message #1--
--response to #1--
15.09.08, extraction and modified summary: There is no "permafrost burial program" in place. You would have to make arrangements yourself for chemical preservation, shipment to Canada and arrangements with a funeral director in northern Canada to bury you. Over a decade ago a person from Europe made such arrangements for his deceased relative, but it would be much more difficult (and costly!) to make them for yourself.
--end of response to #1--
--message #2--
15.9.08 posted to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Venturists/message/1025
Extractions: A permafrost burial is useful if a cryoprotective perfusion has happened. If not, natural petrification should be the alternative. A water-proof and hermetical seal around the head can do as a preparation for biostasis. So the head must be sealed after a quickly arranged antiseptic treatment. In this case, the burial place should be quite deep in the ground to provide a temperature which must be always three degrees Celsius or higher above the freezing point. Without cryoprotective perfusion, Siberia would be too cold for a burial place where natural petrification can be arranged. In many cases, hermetical longterm storage of plants and insects has taken place in amber and copal. So far, a specimen from the spider family Filistatidae in fossil amber has been digitally dissected by Paleontologist David Penney from the University of Manchester in England. Using VHR-CT technique, he made detailed images of the spider's well-preserved internal organs.
For later reanimation it would be a wise strategy to put a tissue sample from my body (a hair including its root) inside unsaturated polyester or something, to store it at the provider's facility. If the burial place will be discovered in a couple of decades or centuries, I suggest that the identity of content can be verified with the tissue sample's DNA.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118647785/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/multimedia/2007/10/gallery_digimorph
http://pda.physorg.com/lofi-news-penney-spider-university_112885174.html
--end of message #2--
--response to #2--
15.9.08, extraction: How about KrioRus? www.kriorus.ru/english.html
--end of response to #2--
--message #3--
15.9.08 "Re: Associate membership / chemo suspension --Kriorus--" to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Venturists/messages
Thank you for your reply. Kriorus would really be whom I'd like to get in touch with. Extractions from my email to the Cryonics Society of Canada: "Actually, I'm trying to get into contract arrangements for a permafrost burial and chemo suspension of my head (in case of death)... But I don't know if I should contact Danila Medvedev or Mr. Alexey Potapov at Kriorus to find out if they can act as a chemo-provider for a permafrost burial of someone's head."
The page www.cryocdn.org/perma.html gave me the impression that the Cryonics Society of Canada could help me to get in contact with Kriorus a better way than I could do on my own. It's because I don't know how to talk to Kriorus about a burial in a sealed container, while www.kriorus.ru/english.html describes a dewar. It looks possible to me that they may think I don't trust their cryonic suspension. Of cause, I'd ask Kriorus for their standard services if I could finance the cost with an insurance or something - but that's not the case. How can I send a suitable inquiry to them -a cryonics provider-, telling that my situation requires a special offer for chemo suspension only, payable as a one-time fee?
--end of message #3--
--response to #3--
Neither a response to the above nor a response to a later message asking for plastination of neuro-tissue as a preparation for economically priced shipping.
--end of response to #3--
--message #4--
22.9.08 "Permafrost Burial" in response to http://www.network54.com/Forum/291677/message/1189556055/cryonics+organization+alternatives
Low-cost preservation may be a permafrost burial in Canada. It requires an individual arrangement which http://www.cryocdn.org/perma.html informs about. But I live in Germany and a payment for delivery of a human in postmortal condition from Germany to Canada would be too much. So my small income doesn't allow a Life Insurance for Cryonics and related investments.
Only for Life Extension, a human brain in longterm storage is impossible in Germany. In regions of Europe and nearby, only Kriorus in Russia is available. Actually, I'm trying to figure out the terms for a cheap arrangement granting a permafrost burial in Siberia. When in postmortal condition, a big expense will be for delivery by plane from Germany to Russia. Delivery including air transport requires the unacceptable expense of 6000 Euro. Delivery by car is hard to get, just because of the great distance and transit countries. Railways providers don't do that kind of transportation anymore.
Now I'm checking out a cheap delivery to Moscow by car. If there's a way, I could search further and ask if there's anyone who offers a special low-cost support in hindsight to chemo suspension and a permafrost burial in Siberia. What's on? Should I dare to send an inquiry to Kriorus direcly right now, just for the purpose of chemo suspension only?
--end of message #4--
--response to #4--
23.9.08, alternative
Extraction and modified summary: Wait for Jordan Sparks to open his cryonics non-profit. He was planning to offer a $10,000 human cryopreservation. IMO Canadian summers aren't cold enough. And chemical preservations kill every cell.
--end of response to #4--
Oregon Cryonics Forum
The thread Cryonics Organization Alternatives at the The Cold Filter http://www.network54.com/Forum/291677 yielded further replies. After a while I announced: "When cryopreservation is on the way at Oregon Cryonics, their planning of a $10,000 fee in total gives me an incentive to explore their forum too." Below are copies of robomoon's messages including summaries about replies from http://70.90.133.65/cryonicsforum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4 on the Cryonics Discussion Forum. Forum owner: Oregon Cryonics.
24.9.08, "Alternatives, Funding, and Membership"
As suggested at The Cold Filter http://www.network54.com/Forum/291677/message/1222215145/alternative in response to "cryonics organization alternatives", $10000 membership fee for Oregon Cryonics - http://www.oregoncryo.com/ by Robert Sparks - look promising. So the costs of shipping are a greater problem for me than the full membership fee. http://www.cryonics.uk.com/Cryonics_Meetings.htm gives an insight into the expenses that shipping can cost. Cryonics UK, a self-help group of cryonicists, shows what would be demanded during an emergency situation for someone located in Central Europe. Regarding coverage of an emergency, their members are required to join the group, have signed-up for cryo, and have extra funds to cover the extra costs shipping, further services, etc. As a rough estimate, these extra funds amount to about 18000 Euro. Usually, these funds will be included in the cryonics provider's overseas fees.
Chemo instead of cryo isn't an organized service. However, extra funds to cover the extra costs shipping from Germany to Russia, further services, etc., amount to about 10000 Euro. Unfortunately, my income doesn't match so well with requirements for shipping of a body from Europe to another continent. It's not only that I have no financial ability to pay for a normal cryopreservation. It's also the shipping in an emergency situation which demands an unbearable funding.
Chemo suspension today should be no alternative equal in quality to cryopreservation. Damages on brain cells caused by chemo suspension are greater than the damages caused by cryo suspension. But it's cheaper to obtain one-time applications of ethanol, epoxy, and other relatively affordable materials, instead of an ongoing nitrogen supply. Actually, my income is at the lowest level and my family demand nearly all of my resources. However, I'm in the position to pay less and so I expect a lower level of quality in terms of storage for Life Extension. 5000 Euro for chemo suspension plus 10000 Euro for extra funds seems to me a promising chance. So chemo suspension remains an alternative.
Reply, 24.10.08
Jordan Sparks informed me in his reply "Re: Alternatives, Funding, and Membership" about the need for further research. In case of chemical preservation in the form of ordinary embalming fluid followed by ordinary transport to the United States or Russia and subsequent cryopreservation, the embalming fluid would buy a patient the time needed for cheap and slow transport. KrioRus would fall within my current budget, and when a low cost neuro becomes available in the US or in Europe, that would give me another option. The problem without subsequent cryopreservation is long term degradation. Further research is needed to find a better longterm protocol. A polymer, gel, or solid of some sort would be stable enough.
28.10.08, "Chemo Suspension"
Message contains the link http://shintoist.com/chemsusproblems.txt to the 1st version of this report with short description.
Reply, 28.10.08
Jordan Sparks informed me in his reply about a risk with ethanol: Even if bacteria do not survive, it's not known whether the enzymes, acids, free radicals, etc will not just cause the tissue to self digest anyway. If useful evidence from scanning electron micrographs (SEM's) of brain tissue preserved with ethanol is missing, formaldehyde or gluteraldehyde for preservation of brain tissue are required here. Since we are talking about preserving the brain tissue for many decades, we will also want to see SEM's of the brain's ultrastructure after decades of storage. Again, this will be very easy to find in the case of aldehydes.
29.10.08, "Storage Space"
In our world, we are separated from a rational conclusion: Problems related to storage space for chemo suspension could be solved with a hazardous waste depot. Thus, we must work around the dreary condition that buckets with nuclear waste and toxic chemicals have more rights for a burial including longterm suspension than a human body. Without rights for storage space, further research demands scanning electron micrographs (SEM's) of ashes preserved with ethanol-fire fixation and embedding in an epoxy-urn.
Only in Canada is one chemo suspension for Life-Extension, performed by a permafrost burial. Anywhere else, arrangements of chemo suspension were only for education and research instead of Life Extension. Chemo Suspension Problems http://shintoist.com/chemsusproblems.htm suggests longterm suspension without frost. Formaldehyde and gluteraldehyde function well before a longterm suspension without a freezing method, but their toxic properties require special storage, transportation, and usage. Ethanol-based embalming fluids are easy to handle for perfusion prior to shipping of a body. Nontoxic ethanol can be safely applied and transported.
The right for infinite occupation of a burial ground is hard to obtain, especially in Europe. Rural locations in England and perhaps in the Netherlands may be worth a closer inspection. It looks as if one or another natural burial ground in England could be occupied without a timely limit. The problem: No toxic embalming fluids are allowed. The embedding of the brain in epoxy is highly recommendable, but the toxic properties of epoxy resin render the same hurdles as well. Even the less toxic polyester could turn into the most daring of all efforts.
The risk that enzymes, acids, free radicals, etc. will just cause the tissue to self digest is avoidable in Russia. There could be conditions for a natural burial ground where a better treatment than only embalming with ethanol is allowed.
Reply, 29.10.08
Jordan Sparks informed me in his reply about responsibility required for perpetual storage (with already expressed reservations about the longterm effects). The best approach is for a corporation to assume responsibility for perpetual storage of neuro-tissue. A simple sealed container of liquid fixative on a shelf in a room is the simplest solution. Unsupervised burial of any kind is an unsafe place, because it's uncontrolled. Chemical preservation does more appropriately fall under the umbrella of real longterm research. This is done under the supervision of scientists, not cemetery landscapers. One or two thousand US-Dollars put into a deposit account should cover the perpetual storage costs.
31.10.08, "Which room can be used consistent with federal law?"
Regarding the legal requirements for chemo suspension, a Russian organization could properly provide ongoing responsibility. About two weeks ago, I made contact with CRYONICS Institute Germany - http://cryonics.de -. Actually, they cannot trust the longterm efficiency of any kind of responsibility for perpetual storage by an organization in Eastern Europe. A day later I contacted Deutsche Gesellschaft für Angewandte Biostase (transl.: "German society for applied biostasis") at http://biostase.de and they don't give a better statement about Cryonics in Russia too. Due to unwarranted worries that a Russian storage provider might easily face bankruptcy in the coming decades, it's not widely accepted that storage in their building is more secure than an underground depot close to their building - which can be supervised periodically.
It may be more than seven years ago when I emailed Alcor. No reply. Later I emailed CI to ask what's in for a small amount of money, but they told me "wrong time". Regarding methods for cheap transportation of a brain to a supervised room in the US, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Venturists/message/1029 has gotten no better reply but my own insufficient remark about shipping plastinates. Has anyone outside Russia gained support for arrangements with KrioRus? However, any organization that owns a room which can be used consistent with federal law for chemo suspension would be alright.
Reply, 31.10.08
Jordan Sparks informed me in his reply about standard industrial classification (SIC) in the US. There are a variety of business types that would legitimately store containers with preservation fluid in them. Most commercial zones determined by SIC would allow educational and research companies. This includes office buildings, warehouses, and nearly everything in between. The only other laws to follow involve OSHA and the storage of toxic chemicals. Some examples of zones that would not be legal: Residential and retail. There is currently no such corporation for chemo suspension.
1.11.08, "Better Than a Cinerary Urn"
Scraping together funds for Cryonics with just a few years of effort requires the prospect of a sufficient income. But there are difficulties, even in Central Europe. Some members of my family are from poor regions in Southeast Asia. Since I'm responsible for them, their needs brought my finances down. It's not only their fault since I had to retire early due to ongoing health problems. In developing countries, Cryonics is known as luxury. Therefore, my relatives have taken control over my low income - not only because of their fear that I'll pay for Cryonics. They feel that it costs too much.
No organization in Germany or nearby supports an arrangement for Cryonics in Russia. Nobody close to me is becoming a volunteering witness to sign a form called "Declaration of Intent to be Cryopreserved". Now it's time to outline an arrangement for chemo preservation. Three flaws:
1st flaw: Decay. Natural burial ground in Europe. Organizations who provide this space require nontoxic materials. Fixation only with ethanol containing sodium chloride. Embedding only in panels of impregnated cotton fiber. Impregnating requires hot wax which has been produced by glands of the Apoidea genus Apis.
2nd flaw: Missing supervision. Natural burial ground in a polar region. Organizations who provide this space require out-of-competition sports after officially declared death to break the world record in outdoor ice bathing while trying to avoid more damages on brain tissue than the frozen Norwegian named Bredo Morstoel has gotten. Trygve Bauge (B. Morstoel's grandson) wrote in Trygve's Meta Portal v.5.7, 2003/2004, http://www.trygve.bauge.com/ about his outdoor world record 1 hour & 4 minutes in 0 degree water, with airtemperature minus 1 degree Celsius.
3rd flaw: Alteration of brain cells. Underground depot in a salt mine. Secure entrance to the underground depot with controlled access enables periodical supervision. Organizations who provide this space require storage of brain tissue in dry form. http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/plastination/new_approach_teaching_anatomy.html states that transparent slices of tissue allow observation of even the most minute nerves. Gray matter visible in slices of the brain is distinguishable from a white portion of the brainstem. Small, microscopic bundles of cells retain their original form.
When all the flaws are being compared, the 3rd flaw is negligible enough to keep brain cells in better position than those of the following cryo-pioneers who underwent warm-ups after suspension in ice: Some of Cryonics Society of California (CSC) patients, some of Cryonics Society of New York (CSNY) patients, and those who tried longterm freezing in France and Norway.
Resources:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/day-of-the-frozen-dead-528319.html
http://www.alcor.org/Library/html/suspensionfailures.html
Reply, 2.11.08
Jordan Sparks informed me in his reply about a method of higher quality in terms of longterm preservation than the three alternatives I'm currently considering. Regarding requirements connected to his proposal for storage in embalming fluid and financial calculations, please refer to my note in the next paragraph. Proposal: Convince a funeral director to embalm the corpse, remove the head, and store the head in a bucket of embalming fluid. The immersion is important, because without full immersion, the embalming fluid will stop working in about a few weeks. Under such circumstances, chemical preservation can be done for $1500, $800 of which would be used for long term storage.
Note: Keeping J. Sparks' method of embalming in line with EU law requires excellent knowledge and utilization of the relevant legislation. Otherwise, expenses would barely be on a lower level than expenses for other medical services like surgical intervention and storage of organ transplants.
5.11.08, "Authorities will confiscate the head"
Chemo suspension including storage in embalming fluid cannot be for later retrieval of many memories in detail. However, some essential parts of the mind may be still functional after reanimation. Blended with new parts, a brain should very well qualify for Life Extension. Even plastination is acceptable when better alternatives are unavailable. So it's bearable for me to predict that procedures for the retrieval of memories will turn into a memorization much different than the memories during my actual life.
A head in embalming fluid is hard to maintain for the purpose of Life Extension. In the EU, people who aren't well-informed about chemo suspension may find longterm storage of a human head in embalming fluid unacceptable. German legislation makes longterm storage of corpses and their organs unlawful, except those which are organ transplants or for education and science. So it's likely that the authorities will confiscate the head and bring it to cremation. Next to this, German legislation makes decapitation of corpses by untrained surgeons unlawful. Morticians who purposely remove a head from the body must fear for their professional licenses.
-the discussion goes on-