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New Statistics (As July 31, 2010)

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Membership
Alcor had 924 members on its Emergency Responsibility List. Seven (7) memberships were approved during this month, no memberships were reinstated, four (4) memberships were cancelled and no members were cryopreserved. Overall, there was a net gain of three (3) members this month.

Applicants
Alcor had 54 applicants for membership. Seven (7) new applicants were added, seven (7) applicants were converted to members and three (3) applicant was cancelled resulting in a net loss of three (3) applicant for this month.

Information Packets
Alcor received 210 information packet requests. nine (9) were handed out during facility tours or from special request. The average total of 214 info packs sent per month in 2010 is compared to 188 in 2009.

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Australian Adventist Media Network

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An Australian production crew for the Adventist Media Network visited Alcor to film an episode for an upcoming series entitled “Beyond.” The project is a series of fifteen documentaries which follows a native Australian as he travels the world looking beyond and asking bigger picture questions about life in the modern world, religion, spirituality and life extension technology, including the amazing new advances in scientific possibility through cryonics.

Aaron Drake was filmed as he conducted a tour of the Alcor facility. Joe Waynick was also interviewed to discuss how religious beliefs can coexist with cryonics.

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Personalized Life Extension Conference 2010

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October 9-10, 2010
Alcor members and friends are cordially invited to attend Personalized
Life Extension 2010 to be held in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The focus of the meeting is on actions we can each take NOW to extend
our lives, and delay or prevent the diseases of aging.
Conference organizers expect that cryonics will be discussed as an
emergency option available today.
To get a $100 discount on registration, use this code when registering:
ALCOR
This brings the current cost down to $175.
For more details, and to register, see:
http://lifeextensionconference.com

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Alcor Readiness Coordinator Hired

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We would like to welcome our newest staff member, Steve Graber. Steve will be working with Alcor’s Transport Coordinator to perform standbys, postmortem stabilization, and transport of Alcor patients to Alcor’s cryopreservation facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. Additionally, he participates in training and outfitting regional groups around the world that assist with stabilization and transport of Alcor patients. Utilizing his design and fabrication skills, Steve will also work with Alcor’s Research Fellow, Equipment Fabricator, and R&D Committee to design, construct, test, and validate new procedures and equipment.

To read more about our new readiness coordinator click here: Steve Graber Bio

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Cryopreservation of patients #96, 97 & 98

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In what has become the busiest 12 months of any previous year in Alcor’s history, we have cryopreserved three additional members during this past month of June.

A-2371, who maintained confidentiality with respect to his membership, resided in Cleveland, Ohio. Alcor initiated an eight-day standby when the member fell critically ill during the month of May. The standby ended when the member’s condition improved and he was inevitably discharged from the hospital. Roughly a month later however, the individual returned to the hospital and was placed on life support. When all efforts to correct his medical issues had failed the family made the decision to discontinue all supportive measures. Anticipating that this action would result in clinical death, the family preferred to wait until the entire team and equipment were in place at the member’s bedside.

Suspended Animation was requested to join Alcor’s Aaron Drake, already on standby, for a full deployment. All team members, including a board certified veterinary vascular surgeon and perfusionist, were in place prior to discontinuing the life support. The member’s health continued to decline for another 18 hours before he was pronounced by hospital staff. Immediate stabilization, cool down and a field washout were performed and the patient was shipped to Alcor by air ambulance. We achieved full perfusion of the brain and an estimated net perfusion of 95%, including the body. On June 11th, A-2371 becomes our 96th patient.
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A-1556, who remains temporarily confidential at the request of the family, was suffering with end-stage dementia in California. The family moved their father to Scottsdale to be close to Alcor in his final days. After a short stay in the hospital, physicians determined the individual could no longer eat or drink and that hospice care was the best option. The member was transferred to a hospice facility that is located only ten minutes from Alcor’s facilities, and a standby was established.

Aaron Drake and various members of Arizona’s response team, along with Sandra Russell from Critical Care Research, rotated shifts over the course of the next six days until the member was pronounced. Immediate bedside stabilization and cool down began with the member being transferred by Alcor’s Rescue Vehicle to a waiting surgical team at Alcor Central. Cryoprotection procedures ensued and we achieved terminal perfusion. On June 24th, A-1556 became Alcor’s 97th patient.
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Alcor member Dr. Darius Nelson, A-2158, practiced medicine in Southern California. He had long suffered from prostate cancer that generated a roller coaster of health issues. While not ill enough to launch a standby, Darius’ health was fragile and Alcor felt it was prudent to pre-position a mini-med kit at his home a few months ago. This was due to his specific circumstances – 24 hour nursing care and cryonics friends that lived close by – both who were willing to assist in administering the medications in the event of an unexpected clinical death.

On Sunday morning, June 27th, after appearing to have a very good day with respect to his health, Darius stopped breathing. His health care provider immediately called Alcor’s emergency number upon confirming his condition and also contacted a local Alcor member who was a close personal friend of Darius. Within the hour, he was pronounced, the pre-positioned medications were administered and the patient was immersed in ice. A local mortuary was called and they transferred the patient to Critical Care Research (CCR) while Southern California team members delivered the remaining med kit. Dr. Harris and his team administered the remaining medications, performed a washout and prepped the patient for transport.

We were faced with a potential straight freeze of this patient because the vital statistics office would not open for another day. To avoid this outcome, we chose to modify our typical whole body surgical procedure. CCR performed a washout on the entire body and isolated the cephalon for immediate transport to Alcor via air ambulance. The trunk was then perfused by CCR, placed on dry ice, and transported to Alcor after the transfer permit was obtained.

Technically we achieved terminal perfusion on both the cephalon and the trunk. However, we remain concerned that the cephalon perfusion statistically appeared less than optimal. Darius is now Alcor’s 98th patient.

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Alcor Northern-California Meeting

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This meeting will be held on Sunday, July 18, 2010, at 4pm in Mountain View, California.
For more info and directions please contact Mark Galeck at .

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Applied Cryobiology – Scientific Symposium on Cryonics

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1st to 3rd October 2010 in Goslar, Germany
The German Society for Applied Biostasis (DGAB) organizes its first scientific symposium. It has the title “Applied Cryobiology – Scientific Symposium on Cryonics” and will be held in autumn 2010.

The DGAB was established in May 2006. Aim of the association is the promotion of research and application of biostasis methods, especially of cryonics, for life-extension.

The symposium is a pioneering event. Its aim is to emphasize the scientific fundamentals of cryonics. Scientists from universities and cryonic research-facilities all over the world present the state of the art of science.

During the symposium the “Robert-Ettinger-Medal” for outstanding merits in the field of cryonics will be awarded for the first time. Robert Ettinger is regarded to be the “father of cryonics”. He established the Cryonics Institute in Michigan (USA) and is known to be a pioneer of transhumanism. His books “The Prospect of Immortality” and “Man into Superman” are essential works in the fields of cryonics and transhumanism.

The symposium “Applied Cryobiology” will be held at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Goslar, Germany, from 1st to 3rd October. For more information contact Homepage: http://symposium2010.biostase.de

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Official Alcor Facebook Page

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Alcor Life Extension Foundation is on Facebook. If you would like to connect with Alcor members and supporters then visit our official Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/alcor.life.extension.foundation

Become a fan and encourage interested friends, family members, and colleagues to support us too.

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Executive Director’s Report – June 5, 2010

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Jennifer Chapman
Executive Director
Board Report
June 5, 2010
In mid-May, we cryopreserved 92-year-old Paul Garfield, a neuropreservation patient. Paul was a dedicated member of Alcor for 20 years and a long-time volunteer at the organization. Even in his 90’s Paul maintained an active lifestyle, often going dancing and visiting Alcor weekly. After being hospitalized in early 2009, he moved out of state to live with relatives. Alcor developed a cordial relationship with his son, who expressed a desire to honor his father’s wish for cryopreservation, despite personal reservations. The son informed Alcor in March that Paul had suffered a stroke and was undergoing physical therapy. On May 11, Paul was admitted to hospice care after his condition deteriorated, possibly due to another stroke. Alcor immediately deployed Aaron Drake and Suspended Animation to perform a standby that ultimately lasted about a day. Several Alcor Texas team members also offered assistance gathering supplies, providing transportation, and participating in the standby. Following pronouncement, Suspended Animation immediately began stabilization procedures and performed a successful field washout. He arrived in Alcor’s operating room approximately 20 hours post-pronouncement, and we achieved terminal perfusion. Paul became Alcor’s 95th patient.

Earlier in the month, we had received an emergency call regarding a member with lymphoma who had been hospitalized in Ohio. We had been tracking this member’s health condition as part of our watch list program. We were receiving mixed signals regarding his condition and decided to deploy Aaron Drake on May 4 to perform a wellness check. During the five-day deployment, Aaron met the member, his family and health care providers. The deployment was ended when the member showed sufficient signs of recovery, but the visit afforded us the opportunity to lay the groundwork with his health care providers, who would largely become our source of information thereafter. We continued to closely monitor his condition and were contacted by his nurse when his health further deteriorated. On June 3, Aaron was again deployed to do a wellness check.

Late this month, we were visited by an 85-year-old member who was moved to the Phoenix area by his supportive daughter. He was unable to communicate, which is particularly disconcerting for those of us who have known him for years. Although we did not enjoy seeing him in that condition, we are glad he is now living only a few miles from Alcor central. We also received a last-minute case inquiry on our emergency line from a gentleman who was seeking to cryopreserve his hospitalized mother. He has not yet provided the information necessary for Alcor to further assess his request.

Following our back-to-back cryopreservation of hospice patients last month, we had the pleasure of hosting a visit from several representatives of one of our local hospice providers. It was a valuable opportunity to give and receive feedback about our mutual experience. Several logistical details were discussed to ensure an optimal process in the future, such as where to park the Alcor vehicle and how to minimize the disruptiveness of our thumper. (We have now upgraded to the quieter Lucas 2). We explained the aspects of their service that are critical to our objectives, such as timely pronouncement. We have also been assigned our own private room near the exit, for the most expeditious transport to Alcor. It was a positive meeting and we look forward to continuing our mutually beneficial association.

Our dewar provider has finished its testing of Bigfoot #10, and the boiloff rate is higher than desired at 17 liters per day. (Apparently the initial result of about 10 liters per day was not reliable, as suspected.) We are at least two to three years away from running out of dewar space, considering our current caseload. Therefore, we have requested the patient care trust board’s approval of funding for additional dewars. We plan to offer a financial incentive if our dewar provider is able to further improve its boiloff rate.

Randal’s redesign of the whole body enclosure is now complete and the table is ready for testing. Hugh Hixon will work with Joel Andersen and Randal to conduct the necessary tests. Randal also built the back plates and shelving for six ATPs. Steve Graber will assemble the remaining components with assistance from Hugh.

We hired a new professional employer organization this month, following a significant increase in the cost of doing business with ADP TotalSource. D’Bora and Bonnie devoted significant time to this project, interviewing several firms, providing them with information, and managing all the necessary setup with the new firm. Their efforts are appreciated.

On the financial side, the A/R report indicates collection efforts are warranted for delinquent membership dues and CMS payments. The total outstanding balance for those 61-90 days past due is ~$13k and those over 90 days past due total ~$72k. This represents a 5% increase over the past two months. Bonnie plans to send duplicate invoices and/or collection notices to the members who are behind on their dues.

Respectfully Submitted,
Jennifer Chapman
Executive Director
ALCOR FOUNDATION
To review previous Executive Director’s board reports, visit the Alcor staff page.