After extensive discussion and beta-testing, Alcor has launched a new discussion forum. We recognize the need for a forum where our members can discuss issues relating to Alcor and cryonics in general. We also recognize the need for a forum where members will feel comfortable exchanging ideas without running into hostile behavior of people who are not interested in advancing the cause of cryonics and life extension.
As a consequence, our forum is accessible to the general public but only Alcor members can create an account after their membership status has been confirmed. Some Alcor members have asked for a private forum that is not accessible to the general public so we have added a private forum.
For Alcor members who prefer to keep their identity private the forum also offers the option of using a pseudonym – pending verification of membership status.
As Alcor will soon release a document about its proposed policies on grandfathering and underfunded cases, this is a good time to register for the forums and participate in the discussion.
We try to approve new account applications as soon as possible but there may be a short delay between registration and membership status verification.
The next Alcor Board of Directors meeting will be held on FRIDAY, October 7, 2011, at 11:00 AM (PDT) at the Alcor facility (7895 East Acoma Drive in Scottsdale, AZ). Members and the public are encouraged to attend this meeting.
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Deployments: Alcor has had 8 deployments in the last year for Alcor members.
A suspension was performed in 5 of these deployments.
The number of days that were spent on standby for these member totaled 30.
Alcor collaborated with Suspended Animation’s team on 3 of these responses.
The cities that Alcor has conducted standbys/deployments include: Torrance, CA (2x); Palo Alto, CA; Abington, PA; Brooksville, FL; Litchfield Park, AZ (2x); Newport Coast, CA.
Training: Alcor hosted a total of four different training sessions conducted for the benefit of readiness. Team training was conducted for our teams in Portland, OR; Laughlin, NV; and twice in Arizona.
Aaron Drake renewed his National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians – Paramedic (NREMT-P) certification by obtaining 72 hours of continuing education credits and attending an 8-day Advanced Life Support refresher course. In addition, he maintained his certifications in: Automatic External Defibrillation (AED); Continuous Cardiac Perfusion (CCP-CPR); International Trauma Life Support (ITLS); Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP); and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).
Public Education: Over the course of the last 12 months, Aaron conducted 59 tours with a total of 214 attendees. Tours are offered to the public twice a week – Tuesdays at 10:00 am and Fridays at 2:00 pm. There are many local colleges that schedule class tours as part of their class curriculum. These include Arizona State University, Ottawa University, Glendale Community College, and Tuscan Unified School District. Special group tours have been provided for Barry Aaron’s legislative representatives to foster positive political awareness, visitors from Finnish cryonics society as well as Kriorus, the Arizona chapter of the World Futurist Society and members from TEDMED.
Case reports for the following patients were published to Alcor’s website:
A-2435
A-1614
A-2361
A-2420
A-1712
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Membership Statistics
Alcor had 944 members on its Emergency Responsibility List. Four memberships were approved during the month of August, no memberships were reinstated, fourteen memberships were cancelled and one member was cryopreserved. Overall, there was a net loss of eleven members in August.
Applicant Statistics
Alcor had 51 applicants for membership. Twelve new applicants were added, four applicants were converted to members and no applicants were cancelled resulting in net a gain of eight applicants in August.
Information Packet Statistics
Alcor received 79 info pack requests in August. Fifteen were handed out during facility tours or from special request. The average total of 109 info packs sent per month in 2011 compares to 199 in 2010. The full Information Packet is now available online.
You’re invited to the Southern California 11/11/11 CryoFeast!!
Southern California members (and anyone else who’d like to attend) are invited to this year’s CryoFeast on 11/11/11. We will be kicking off the holiday season with a party for Alcor members and their family and friends in Newport Beach, CA.
Date: Friday November 11, 2011 Time: 7:00 PM to 11:11 PM
So please, mark it on your calendar if you will be in the Newport Beach area on 11/11/11. However, attendance will be by R.S.V.P. only so you may confirm by emailing Dr. Kat Cotter at and she will send you the address and all the details.
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On Saturday, September 10, 2011, Alcor held its Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors. The meeting was attended by all directors, seven in person and one by teleconference and using Skype. In addition to the public Annual Meeting, the directors, the president, and (for some sessions) several other participants, spent Friday afternoon and after dinner, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning engaged in a private Strategic Meeting.
Director and officer elections were held at the Annual Meeting. The existing slate of directors, James Clement, J.D., Ravin Jain, M.D., Saul Kent, Ralph Merkle, PhD, Michael Riskin, PhD, CPA, Michael Seidl, PhD, Tim Shavers, J.D., Brian Wowk, PhD, and officers Max More, PhD (President) and R. Michael Perry, PhD (Secretary and Treasurer), were carried forward for another year.
Alcor’s Board of Directors is self-perpetuating according to Alcor’s bylaws. There was some discussion of bringing onto the Board a ninth director and of possible candidates should one of the existing eight need to be replaced. Among the most desirable skills in such a person would be expertise and credentials in accounting, medicine or cryobiology, fund raising, public relations, and business.
There was extensive discussion of the problem of member underfunding. A discussion document is being prepared for publication later this month. Following its publication, there will be a 3-month discussion period before a decision is made to implement any specific proposal.
Alcor’s operations budget ran a surplus in 2011 due to several hundred thousand dollars of unanticipated and nonrecurring revenue from case funding and bequests. These funds will be used to replenish Alcor’s Reserve Fund, which was significantly depleted in the years prior to Alcor’s recent dues increases.
The operations budget is expected to be balanced until 2014 due to revenue from the LEF/Miller/Thorp grant, which expires at the end of 2013. A deficit anticipated in 2014 (based on zero cases) is believed to be manageable through cost savings and other measures to be implemented in 2013 and/or 2014.
There are to be no increases in dues, CMS fees, or cryopreservation minimums in 2012. An increase in the whole body minimum is under discussion for 2013. There may be some revenue-neutral adjustments to Alcor dues discounts. This is still under discussion.
The portions of cryopreservation funding allocated to CMS will be increased from $20K to $30K for whole body, and from $15K to $25K for neuro without any associated increase in minimums. We believe this new allocation better reflects our costs and will support our efforts to continually improve standby services.
In 2010 a decision was made to seek legal segregation and protection of $3.5 million of funds that Alcor has been treating as an Endowment. The intention is to insulate the funds from liability, and legally enshrine Alcor’s policy of limiting withdrawals to 2% per year. Director and attorney Michael Seidl provided the board with an update of his investigations of options to do this, which include either a structure similar to Alcor’s Patient Care Trust or establishment of a separate 501(c)3 organization if tax-exempt status can be obtained.
An Alcor 40th anniversary conference in late 2012 is being considered.
Alcor will be attempting to deploy a capability for limited field neuro cryoprotection with M22 vitrification solution for dry ice shipment for some overseas cases. There was considerable discussion of logistics issues and personnel to improve response capabilities in Europe.
There was a presentation by Suspended Animation, Inc. (SA) and some of their contract medical personnel at the Strategic Meeting. SA now has a network of cardiothoracic surgeons and clinical perfusionists that they will be attempting to deploy for all their cases. Alcor adopted a policy of attempting to use SA for all Alcor cases in the continental U.S. outside of Arizona for which they are available and for which their services are clinically indicated. Alcor staff and ACT teams will still be used as emergency first responders. Aaron Drake may sometimes accompany the SA team. Catherine Baldwin was added to the Alcor Deployment Committee and made an advisor to the Alcor Board.
Next year’s meeting is scheduled for September 7 to 9, 2012.
Acknowledgments
The board and management of Alcor wish to thank the staff, membership and donors for support over the past year. We especially thank the Life Extension Foundation, the Millers, and Edward and Vivian Thorp for their joint grant pledged in 2008 that expired earlier this year, apart from the portion directed at funding the CEO position.
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This year’s Alcor CryoFest will be held Saturday, November 26th at 2:30pm in South Austin at the home of Alcor President Max More and Humanity+ Chair Natasha Vita-More. This Thanksgiving themed get-together is for Texas area cryonicists and life extension enthusiasts. We are delighted that this CryoFeast looks to include not only Alcor members and other cryonicists, but also Humanity+ members, life extensionists, and others interested in the field of human enhancement and life expansion. Feel free to share this invitation with anyone who you think may be interested.
A short meeting will also take place at the CryoFeast for people who are interested in learning more about cryonics but have not yet set up arrangements with a cryonics organization. In the past people have attended from Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, from all over Texas, to reconnect, meet new people, and learn about developments in the cryonics field.
Attendees are only asked to bring a favorite dish or drink they would like to share and to RSVP.
RSVP to Immortality Institute Director and Alcor volunteer Shannon Vyff by email: , or by text or phone: (806) 445-6417 When you RSVP, please include what sort of main, side or dessert dish you will bring and she will get back to you with the address to the CryoFeast location. Also please list the number in your party and ages of any children who will be accompanying you. Shannon will be setting up a cryonics Q&A session for the children and coordinating who is coming to the CryoFeast as well as what they are contributing.
Gregory Benford: “In the early 1990s it seemed time for a novel that looked at cryonics with a view of how it might play out in our time.
I think it’s still time to reconsider the fundamental issues of cryonics, and indeed, of any attempt to live far into the long future before us. In a time of strange religious passions and ideas, we need to realize what the future might hold, and so how high the stakes are.
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Alcor member A-2091 was pronounced on August 18, 2011. A whole body cryopreservation, A-2091 became Alcor’s 107th patient.
A-2091, a member living in Southern California, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in 2010. Alcor went on high alert in June of this year, and the member received 24 hour care at her home. Chemotherapy and medication administration was discontinued in June. In mid-June, Alcor prepared and shipped a mini-med kit to her home. In late June, a PICC line was established to permit easier administration of transport medications. Around the same time, the prior “full code” status was removed.
Arrangements were made with Suspended Animation to provide standby when required. Aaron Drake arranged a charter flight and made a special arrangement with the Health Department so that we could call after hours to secure a transit permit (this turned out to be very useful). He visited the home in later July, met with a nearby mortuary, and worked out logistic details.
Suspended Animation initiated a standby on August 9; at least two team members on site at all times. After about a week of standby, SA’s veterinary surgeon was replaced by a cardiothoracic surgeon who, by all accounts, performed superbly. Shortly before noon on August 18, it was clear that clinical death was imminent. The charter flight was set in motion, but a dust storm in Scottsdale/Phoenix delayed its departure—fortunately only briefly.
The patient was pronounced at 4:12pm. Reportedly, the patient was cooled remarkably quickly over the first hour after cardiac arrest. No one was answering the phone at the Health Department, but the private, after-hours number got a quick response. She was loaded on the plane at 8:57pm, and reached Alcor at 10:22pm. The surgery was challenging due to extensive medical issues, but target cryoprotectant concentration was reached in the brain.
Our best wishes to A-2091 and her family. We will do our utmost to keep you secure, providing a chance for a future return to life.
Alcor is pleased to announce that the 3rd Quarter 2011 Cryonics Magazine is now available for viewing, purchasing and downloading.
Just because we no longer mail out physical copies of Cryonics magazine (except by special arrangement), you shouldn’t miss on what’s going on at Alcor and in cryonics. In the 3rd Quarter 2011 issue, the CEO Update reminds us of the value of air bags, seatbelts, wearing your Alcor bracelet, and ensuring your paperwork is current. The Update also notes a close call that might have meant three cryopreservations in the same week; informs us of improvements to the building, security, and energy efficiency; has information on recent and upcoming talks and conferences; and concludes with a teaser about a planned 2012 Alcor 40th Anniversary Conference.
Also in the 3rd quarter issue of Cryonics magazine is a richly illustrated review and update of Intermediate Temperature Storage (ITS). ITS technologies will allow for long term care of cryonics patients at low subzero temperatures with reduced or no fracturing events. This issue also includes a timeline that tracks the history of ITS. Please also visit Alcor’s Facebook page, and vote in the poll about ITS.
Biologist Michael Rose, Ph.D., outlines his unorthodox view of the aging process and discusses strategies to halt the aging process. He acknowledges the value of cryopreservation as a back-up plan, but also offers “an informal introduction to a third possibility. This possibility is one in which aging is stopped, and then repair and refurbishment are used to achieve immortality by the simple expedient of not dying in the first place.” Rose says he is breaking with a long Western academic tradition of aging theory as a cumulative physiological process. His practical proposal—reflecting Max More’s recent article “The Cryo-Paleo Solution”—advocates “shifting back to lifestyles that are physiologically comparable to those of hunter-gatherers” to provide “a possibility of stopping aging at earlier ages, and in better shape”.
Given Aschwin de Wolf’s consistent and excellent role as Cryonics editor, and researcher, it’s about time that he receives his own member profile (written by Alcor member Cairn Idun).
Cryonics magazine is also available as a paper magazine. Individual issues cost $9.95 plus shipping. They can be ordered at MagCloud. A subscription to the paper edition of Cryonics magazine is also available. If you live in the United States, a subscription for one year costs $39, two years $69, three years $99 (including shipping). If you live in another country, a subscription for one year costs $99, two years $179, three years $239 (including shipping). Start your subscriptions to the paper edition TODAY!
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