This article is from the column For the Record, Cryonics, July
1991
See also:
The First Suspension
by Mike Perry
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The freezing of Dr. James Bedford in January 1967 was the first (albeit crude)
cryonic suspension. It was a major milestone, but like many other such occurrences,
it didn't happen in a vacuum. Here I'd like to summarize some events that led
up to this turning-point, and briefly relate the event itself, as it was seen
in the budding cryonics movement.
Early on, there had been optimism. Robert Ettinger wrote in The Prospect
of Immortality, "My own guess is that most of us will be frozen by nondamaging
methods . . ."[1] It wasn't long though, before it was recognized that there
would be problems in getting even one person frozen, despite the best efforts
of a few dedicated individuals, and the fact that over 50 million people were
dying each year. After two years of promoting the concept, Evan Cooper in December,
1964 fumed in exasperation, "Are we shouting in the abyss? How could 110 million
go to their deaths without one, at least trying for a life in the future via
freezing? Where is the individualism, scientific curiosity, and even eccentricity
we hear so much about?"[2]
To expedite matters, Cooper's Life Extension Society, in June 1965, offered
to freeze the first person free: "The Life Extension Society now has primitive
facilities for emergency short term freezing and storing our friend the large
homeotherm (man). LES offers to freeze free of charge the first person desirous
and in need of cryogenic suspension." [3] (Despite the generous offer, however,
LES would never freeze anybody.)
By this point, there had already been a tragic near-miss. Wilma Jean McLaughlin
of Springfield, Ohio expired of heart and circulatory problems May 20, 1965.
Ev Cooper filed a report the following day, from which the following is excerpted:
[4]
"The woman who almost became the first person frozen for a possible reanimation
in the future died yesterday. The attempt to freeze her was abandoned. The reports
on why the freezing was given up vary considerably according to the newspaper,
newscast, or long distance call. However, the following are apparently some
of the obstacles that developed.
"1. Though the husband was pro-freezing, some of the relatives and their
minister were against it. The minister was reported to have been opposed because
the operation was untested and the doctors could not assure him the experiment
would succeed.
"2. The physician would not aid in the experiment, according to the N.Y.
Herald Tribune.
"3. The hospital administration and trustees met in emergency session, according
to reports, and refused to go along with certain procedures after death, according
to the Philadelphia Inquirer and other press agencies.
"4. Leonard Gold of Juno, Inc., as reported in the Washington Post,
said his company's `capsule' or insulated container wasn't available. His
company had been caught off guard, he said, and only a prototype was in existence
which was still being tested.
"5. The minister warned, according to the UPI and the Washington Post,
that `the idea was new and laws had not been enacted to regulate the company
involved.'
"6. The subject for freezing was unconscious and did not know anything about
the plan according to most reports."
Another tragic near-miss occurred later in the year.[5] Dandridge M. Cole was
a brilliant scientist and technological forecaster who had received a pre-publication
copy of Ettinger's book in 1963, and had been deeply impressed. His own most
recent book, Beyond Tomorrow, had devoted several pages to the subject
of suspended animation. He had expressed a wish to be frozen after death to
several friends and relatives, and had had a long discussion on the subject
with a close friend and colleague, Robert Prehoda. It was an unfortunate choice
of a colleague. Prehoda was interested in cryobiology and wrote a book, Suspended
Animation. He was, however, a determined opponent of cryonics, although
he would later take part, reluctantly, in the Bedford freezing.
Cole was only 44 when, on Oct. 30, 1965, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
After some delay a call was placed to Ettinger, who later would write, "I was
consulted by long-distance telephone several hours after he died, but in the
end the family did what was to be expected -- nothing." Discussing the matter
in Suspended Animation, Prehoda managed to rationalize that "Rational
counsel prevailed, and Dan was given a dignified burial."
A success of sorts finally did occur, however, on April 22, 1966. An elderly
woman (never identified) who had been previously embalmed was straight-frozen,
though only after a long interval of non-frozen storage. The freezing was by
Cryocare Corporation in Phoenix, Arizona, and the woman appears to have come
from the Los Angeles area. "Someone has been frozen at last!" Cooper jubilantly
responded, but added a cautionary note:
"There is little or no thought that this first frozen pioneer will rise again
in the 21st or 22nd century as considerable time elapsed between death and
freezing. If the cooling and perfusion of the person with cryoprotective agents
isn't begun immediately at death the memory which is believed a matter of
fine molecular placement would soon disintegrate. As this first person was
frozen long after death there is no known hope for re-establishing the original
memory and thus the personality. Yet this imperfect beginning may be a step
forward toward bringing an extended life to others via cryogenics." [6]
(Within a few months the woman was removed from suspension. [7])
Finally, the big event occurred: the freezing of Dr. James Bedford January
12, 1967, in Glendale, a Los Angeles suburb. Bedford was a 73-year old retired
psychology professor who had written several books on occupational counseling.
"A SECOND PERSON HAS NOW BEEN FROZEN IN CALIFORNIA. REVIVAL A GOAL" was how
Cooper broke the news in the January, 1967 issue of Freeze-Wait-Reanimate,
from which the quotations that follow were taken.[8] The freezing was carried
out by affiliates of the newly-formed Cryonics Society of California: Robert
Prehoda, author and cryobiological researcher; Dr. Dante Brunol, physician and
biophysicist; and Robert Nelson, President of the Society. Also assisting was
Bedford's physician, Dr. Renault Able. Several advances were outlined in Cooper's
report:
"1. The time between death and beginning the cooling has been drastically
reduced. This means there may be some hope for reanimation in the distant
future when reanimation techniques have been perfected and a cure for cancer
[the cause of death] has been found.
"2. This reduction in time was made possible by the person in danger of
death making his wishes known, in locating a suitable place and a willing
doctor. A nursing home was located in this instance. Nursing homes, the home
of a doctor or nurse, or the patient's home are the most likely places for
these pioneering freezings. In these homes only one or a few people need to
be convinced of the worth and rationality of freezing. Whereas, in a large
hospital the chain of acceptance is a long one. . . .
"3. Another advance is that this second person is reported to have been
perfused with cryoprotective agents whereas the first person was embalmed.
Is there a difference? Yes, perfusion at its best in a good hospital or clinic
under careful scientific control can be quite a complicated procedure in comparison
to embalming. The aim of perfusion is to extend that process to man which
has been most successful in freezing, storing and reanimating micro-organisms,
tissue and organs. Embalming fluids would be quite destructive to tissue in
comparison to the protective acton of DMSO and glycerol."
Some details were exaggerated in the press:
"The newspaper reports in general gave an unemotional [account] of the freezing,
but with some misunderstandings and exaggerations. The Los Angeles Herald
Examiner, on the front page, stated 'an elderly man who died last night
of cancer was placed in a state of deep freeze moments after death ...'. The
Washington Post carried two additional statements of impossibilities:
'The body of the man was quick-frozen "virtually instantaneously" with his
death Thursday, according to Robert Nelson . . .' and 'He said the body was
quick- frozen and a mechanical heart machine was attached to the man's heart.'
"Obviously it wouldn't make any sense to quick-freeze a person and then
attach a heart machine. Second, it is impossible by present means to quick-freeze
a person. Experiments indicate that even the attempt to quick-freeze with
present methods often leads to the rupture of organs. One needs to be quick
in beginning the cooling and perfusion processes once the person has died,
but the freezing should be rather slow."
Unfortunately, Nelson's penchant for misinformation and general misdealing
would culminate, some years later, in the Chatsworth disaster, in which many
of the early cryonics patients were lost. (Happily, Bedford escaped by being
transferred by relatives, only six days after the freezing, to another facility,
Cryo-Care in Phoenix, from which he would continue a long and eventful journey
across time.) But for the moment, the problems seemed mercifully small:
"In spite of technical difficulties and possible exaggerations the Los Angeles
freezing does appear to be a great step forward. Bob Nelson, LES member and
now forming the Cryonics Society of California, is to be congratulated for
his organizing ability and for his willingness to face the press. Dr. Able
is to be congratulated for his courage in taking part as well as the nursing
home. Many others are to be congratulated for their help though they may not
have obtained or desired publicity. The `patient', the cryonaut, who is reported
to have volunteered is to be congratulated for his courage and foresight.
And, also for his family who respected his rights and desires as an individual.
With extreme good fortune we might be able to present our commendations in
the distant future to this new type of pioneer Westerner who we hope is now
in reasonably good cryogenic suspension."
One unidentified LES member had behind the scenes information, which Cooper
condensed into a report:
"First, Robert Prehoda and Dr. Brunol are certainly to be congratulated for
arranging and seeing the perfusion and freezing through. In fact if it were
not for Prehoda the freezing might not, probably would not, have taken place,
according to our observer.
"This is almost dumbfounding for Robert Prehoda presented the view in the
August-September 1966 issue of this newsletter that to `freeze the dying or
dead at the present time (is) totally unfeasible . . . When an organ as large
as a human brain is perfused with DMSO and frozen to cryogenic temperatures,
most of the cells are damaged beyond any conceptual means of future repair
and restoration to original function.'
"Everyone is delighted that the freezing movement has been pushed a notch
forward. It is a great service for those to follow. But if our facts are wrong,
perhaps we could request of Bob Prehoda a note, article, or letter for our
readers as to what actually happened as he saw it?
"But to continue our freezing and post freezing story . . . [i]t would seem
that after the cooling and partial perfusion and perhaps while the body of
this elderly gentleman was continuing its journey downward toward the cryogenic
state, it was transported away from the nursing home and into Prehoda's garage.
Eventually Prehoda's wife found out about the body in the station wagon in
the garage and our reporter indicates that she got pretty hysterical. As we
understand it the windows of the station wagon were soaped so no one could
see in and the wagon was moved up the hill.
"Our observer gave up describing the scene in detail at that point saying
it could only be described as hysterical and chaotic. He said that if he had
[had] a camera it would have made the movie of the year.
"During this same period LES and Cryonics members [evidently, members of
the Cryonics Society of California and the Cryonics Society of New York] flew
into and descended upon Los Angeles attempting to get extra publicity and
adding to the confusion. For all the confusion and `technical difficulties'
the story has two happy endings. First and most important our frozen pioneer
is reported to have been successfully spirited out of the state of California
and into Ed Hope's Cryo-Care storage center in Phoenix where presumably he
will be placed in a liquid nitrogen environment for his much longer journey
through time. The second happy ending is that the activists and survivors
are now being interviewed by Life Magazine." (The Life report
appeared Feb. 3, but was suppressed because of the Apollo disaster and the
burning of three astronauts, and only about 15% of the readership received
copies, mainly in the Midwest and South.[9])
Finally, Ettinger contributed a letter in which, after generous congratulations,
he offers some brief thoughts:
"In a general way [the freezing] followed the suggestions I made in the May,
1965 issue of Esquire. Dr. Able, the attending physician, was present
at death, and at once applied artificial respiration and external heart massage
to maintain circulation of oxygenated blood while the body was being cooled
with ice. Later, Dr. Brunol, Mr. Prehoda and Mr. Nelson perfused the patient
with DMSO solution [actually he was injected, not perfused], and he was then
frozen with dry ice, later to be transferred to liquid nitrogen . . .
"Readers of the LES newsletter will probably be surprised to know that Mr.
Prehoda provided such important help, in view of his expressed pessimism.
He remains more pessimistic than most of us, and in fact says that at this
date he still would not choose freezing for his own family, but it is greatly
to his credit that he recognizes the possible validity of other viewpoints
and is willing to help the optimists in practice. His chief concern remains
to stimulate greater support for research, and we all agree on the importance
of this.
"We have passed an important milestone, but this is only the beginning of
the journey nevertheless. We are still desperately short of equipment and
organization. (For example, I had to ship our Westinghouse Iron Heart to Los
Angeles, and in general there was a large element of luck in the fact that
clinical death occurred under conditions so favorable.) How much momentum
this incident will gain us is by no means certain. Perhaps we can be excused
a little mild self-congratulation, but it is primarily an occasion for a sober
look at our mistakes and shortcomings."
References:
1. Ettinger, Robert C.W. The Prospect of Immortality, Doubleday, 1964,
p. 157.
2. Life Extension Society Newsletter, Dec. 1964, p.1.
3. Freeze-Wait-Reanimate, Jun. 1965, p.1.
4. Freeze-Wait-Reanimate, May 1965, p.10.
5. Prehoda, Robert W. Suspended Animation, Chilton, 1969, p.112.
6. Freeze-Wait-Reanimate, May 1966, p.1.
7. Freeze-Wait-Reanimate, Feb. 1967, p.4.
8. Freeze-Wait-Reanimate, Jan. 1967, pp.1,2,4,8.
9. Freeze-Wait-Reanimate, Feb. 1967, p.1.
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