It was brought to our attention that the webstore was not accepting coupon codes for orders of the 6th Alcor Conference DVD Set. If you experienced difficulty using your coupon code, your order should now be processed without difficulty. We appreciate your understanding.
If you do experience difficulty or feel you were charged full price in error, please contact Alcor at 1-877-462-5267 ext. 101.
In April, Alcor’s Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Steven B. Harris, and local Alcor members were interviewed for a piece to air on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 Show. As often happens with news programs, Alcor’s planned segment was bumped. The producer contacted Alcor today to notify us that the piece is set to air tonight (Friday, December 22) from 8-9pm EST on the Paula Zahn NOW Show.
Tune in to the Paula Zahn NOW Show on CNN tonight (8-9pm Eastern) to see the piece about Alcor.
Missed the Show? WATCH IT NOW.
Order Your 6th Alcor Conference DVD Set
For a Limited Time Only — Special Pre-order rate of $59.95
For a limited time, pre-order your Conference DVD Set for $59.95, 25% off regular price.
Your DVD Set includes these conference presentations:
Brian Wowk, PhD: The Cryobiological Basis of Cryonics
Ralph Merkle, PhD: Nanotechnology and Cryonics
Robert A. Freitas Jr., JD: Nanomedicine: The Path Forward
Aubrey de Grey, PhD: SENS: A Precursor to Cryonics Revival
Cryonics Public Policy Panel
And More!
Plus, see candid interviews of conference attendees, including Alcor members, and take a guided tour of the Alcor facility.
Only half the fun of the conference, but at a quarter of the price!
Order Now
Shipping and handling charges apply. Pre-ordered DVD sets will be shipped during the 1st quarter of 2007. Pre-orders will not be charged until item is shipped. Special discount expires January 31, 2007.
At the November 4, 2006, meeting there was discussion of various topics:
- Alcor management announced the $25,000 anonymous matching grant for Fracture Free R&D
- Barry Aarons, Alcor’s lobbyist, agreed to provide an overview of how the recent Arizona elections results will affect Alcor (see 2006 Election Report)
- Regarding the wealth preservation trust, Michael Riskin commented that he is still working with the attorney on an updated draft of the trust
- It was announced that nearly 20 members are not regularly paying their dues to Alcor and will have to soon be dropped as members. The main reason for this decision is because Alcor is not able to contact them or they are ignoring offers to establish a payment plan.
There were no Board resolutions other than opening and closing the meeting and approval of last month’s board minutes.
On November 30, 2006, Alcor had 821 members on its Emergency Responsibility List. Two memberships were approved during this month, no memberships were reinstated, no memberships were cancelled and no members were cryopreserved. Overall, there was a net gain of two members this month.
Madison Magazine: Tanya Jones granted an interview to this Australian women’s general interest magazine. An interview with a female member of Alcor was also arranged.
Gulf Coast Times: This Florida-based magazine requested an interview for their periodical, which is provided to hotels, airports, and other frequently visited locations.
Where’s My Jetpack?: After editing the excerpt about cryonics, Alcor provided photos for this book discussing recent progress in technologies currently considered futuristic.
Stabilization Kits
Stabilization kits are a most important part of Alcor equipment. These are kits
that are shipped ahead whenever a member may need a stand-by and contain
the medications and equipment needed stabilize and transport a member in
the event of his legal death. Some of them are prepositioned with local and
regional team leaders, giving them the ability to operate independently and
saving us the time of shipping in the event of an emergency.
We are implementing an overhaul of our stabilization kits. It has involved
scrutinizing every piece of gear in the kits, and reorganizing the way
each of the separate boxes are organized. (There are seven total for field
deployment presently.) In reviewing the equipment and supplies, the amount
of redundancy, the deployment by function (airway, blood washout,
medications, etc.) we have determined that there is significant
consolidation that can be done. Our upcoming stabilization kits are being
reduced to four containers, still appropriate for airline travel.
A prototype of the first three boxes was assembled by Michelle Fry, and
we’re lacking only to test them in a realistic scenario or standby
situation. Once tested for completeness, the new kits can be assembled for
deployment.
As part of preparing these kits for deployment in all the regions, we’ve
begun the process of developing comprehensive inventories, with price
structure and supplier information, as part of our internal inventory and
cash flow management. This includes knowing what consumable supplies will
be used and what capital investment is required in each part of the kit.
Maintaining the stabilization kits is not easy, when kits get shipped out
at different times, medications have varied dates of expiration, and new
equipment or supplies get added to the protocol. We’re hoping that by
starting all the regions out with fresh, and identical, kits, our
inventory management will be both more efficient and more effective for
readiness and clinical use.
This project is having an additional benefit, in that it helps with the
development of an outline for the new stabilization manual that we hope to
begin writing next year.
Training Update
Since the last report, Michelle Fry held a training session in northern
California. Course curriculum in both places included our standard
biohazard and communicable disease lecture, airway management (including
Combi-tube), medications, intraosseous IV placement training, and manual
cardiopulmonary support practice.
Our next stabilization training session will be held in Boca Raton,
Florida in January 2007. For more information, contact dbora@alcor.org.
Thinking of giving Alcor a holiday gift? Well, you can always double your money with the ongoing matching grant program. But if this isn’t what you are really interested in, you can always find something at one of Alcor’s Amazon.com wish lists:
Click here for the equipment list
Click here for the book list
Help filling out our technical library or purchasing much needed equipment is always appreciated. Plus, using the Amazon wish list system, you know exactly where your money is going. So while you are holiday shopping for a loved one, consider also getting a little something for Alcor. Santa will thank you.
We are sorry to report that Michelle Fry is leaving Alcor. MIchelle’s official last day will be January 4, 2006.
We wish Michelle well in her future endeavors. She remains a part of our ACT network of volunteer and contract transport technicians, so her skills and training will not be lost to us.
The end of the year is coming fast, and with it the thought of tax time and another matching grant for Alcor research. Last year, the Bina and Martine Rothblatt Matching Grant was a resounding success, raising $200,000 for research and development related to whole body vitrification. Now we have another opportunity for our supporters to help us in our quest for better cryopreservations. But first, I want to say a little about what was achieved with last year’s grant.
In the past year, we have made steady progress with these projects described in the grant announcement:
* Laboratory Perfusion System: We are almost finished assembling our new lab space and small animal perfusion system, and experiments related to whole body vitrification and cryopreservation will begin shortly.
* Whole Body Cryopreservation System: A new human whole body cryopreservation system is nearing completion, which will significantly improve the quality of cryopreservation and the degree to which whole body patients vitrify.
* Low Temperature Transport: We have begun contract work with a California cryogenic engineer on a low temperature transport container that will allow vitrification and partial vitrification cryopreservation from remote locations, which is of particular interest to our overseas members.
Over half of last year’s grant still remains, to fund experiments and further engineering developments related to its purposes. All the expenditures from the grant were directly project related: not one cent has been used for overhead or regular employee salaries.
This year, a member who prefers to remain anonymous has put up $25,000 for another matching grant, this one focused on his own personal interest: fracture free storage. When a patient is cooled below the glass transition temperature (about -120°C), mechanical stresses form that can lead to fracturing of tissue, significantly increasing the level of technology needed for revival. Contrary to previous belief, we have found that simply maintaining a patient at higher temperatures may not be enough to prevent this damaging fracturing, since we have indications that fractures occur at temperatures too warm to be safe in the long-term.
To understand and seek ways to prevent these damaging fractures in our patients, Alcor has an ongoing project to analyze the biophysics of fracturing using newly developed technologies and methods. Your donation to this matching grant will support progress already underway, including ongoing testing and development of intermediate temperature storage and transportation systems. This research is separate from the whole body vitrification research, which is continuing into 2007.
From now until February 28, 2007, contributions up to a total of $25,000 will be matched by our anonymous donor. As usual, donations are fully tax deductible. This is your opportunity to further Alcor’s goals, double your contribution, and enjoy a tax deduction. Simply print and fill out the enclosed PDF form, or phone Alcor at 1-877-462-5267 ext. 101 with your credit card. We will do the rest.
Finally, I want to thank all our members for their continued encouragement and support over the last year. I think 2007 will be even better.
Stephen Van Sickle
Executive Director
We regret to announce that Dr. Sergey Sheleg is no longer employed by Alcor. Employment matters must always be kept confidential, so there is not much more we can say.
We wish Dr. Sheleg the best of luck in his future endeavors.
