Alcor News #51

Alcor News, May 2006
Your source for insider’s info May 2006, #51

Barbara Walters Visits Alcor

Barbara Walters interviewed Tanya Jones in Alcor’s conference room on April 29.

This bulletin is sent via email to anyone who requested it. Please do not reply to this message. Send comments, suggestions, or complaints to the editor, Mike Perry, ().

Subscribe/unsubscribe information is at the end of this newsletter. Contents are copyright 2006 by Alcor Foundation. Authors This Issue: Jennifer Chapman [JC], Diane Cremeens [DC], Tanya Jones [TJ], Mike Perry [MP], Steve Van Sickle [SVS].

REGISTER TODAY for the 6th Alcor Conference: An Inside Look at the Science and Medicine of Tomorrow. Registration is now open for the 6th Alcor Conference being held at the Scottsdale Marriott in Arizona from October 6-8. The early rate of $295 is in effect until August 1. Visit www.alcor.org to register. Check the website regularly for full conference details and updates. [JC]

Alcor Attends Singularity Institute Conference
Tanya Jones and Steve Van Sickle attended the Singularity Institute conference at Stanford on May 13 as representatives from Alcor. The conference featured such well-known futurists as Ray Kurzweil, Douglas Hofstadter, K. Eric Drexler, and Nick Bostrom. Alcor used this opportunity to interact with many Bay area cryonicists and to promote its own conference coming up in October. [JC, MP]

Media
CNN, Anderson Cooper 360
: We do not yet know when this broadcast will take place. It had been given a preliminary slot for late April but was removed to make room for “the news of the day”. The producers have agreed to inform us of the air date in advance.

ABC News, Barbara Walters Special: The biggest media event for Alcor in quite some time happened Saturday, April 29, when Barbara Walters visited Alcor and interviewed Tanya Jones and several Alcor members. Intensive media training was held–both for Alcor and the members being interviewed–and we expedited several facility upgrade projects (including new frames for the patient photos and setup of our new Patient Care Bay and operating room). This program will air in March 2007 and looks at ways to pursue life extension to age 150 or beyond.

In consultation with WalshCOMM, Alcor is now being much more selective in the media requests it accommodates. Several requests have been turned down, largely because they are from remote parts of the world. [JC]

Outreach: Entrepreneur’s Organization
Alcor has accepted an invitation to speak about cryonics for the Arizona chapter of the Entrepreneur’s Organization (http://www.eonetwork.org) on May 30th. A panel will introduce the audience to the cryonics process, the future technologies required for revival, and the challenges faced. This is our first speaking engagement this year. Tanya Jones will also be speaking at the Idea City in Ontario June 21-23 (http://www.ideacityonline.com/). [JC]

Facility Changes
During the past month many changes took place at the facility. We expanded into a new suite, moved our patients into the new Patient Care Bay and relocated most of the operating room to its new location.

We moved Dr. Sheleg’s lab and set up an equipment testing station for the perfusion automation project. The perfusion automation project, recently approved by the Research and Development Committee, is an extension and rebuild of our whole body perfusion system. It is based on the lessons we learned after a year of doing whole body cases using the new M22 cryoprotectant.

A new lathe and mill was installed in our workshop. This unit will be used for developing equipment prototypes. Bulk fabrication will continue to be done by contractors, but Alcor can now provide working prototypes for replication.

We also installed a new multi-purpose network printer/copier/scanner, which is connected to our network. This will reduce our reliance on individual desktop units and limit our printing expenses.

The broken air conditioner over the old patient care bay was replaced. We’ve also taken the opportunity to repair much of the old, under-sized air conditioning ducting above unit #110.

Overall, the facility has a much-improved appearance, if for no other reason than we have more room. The entire staff worked to make this happen, and everyone has done a great job. [TJ]

Patient Photos
Most of the photos of Alcor’s patients which hang on the walls have been reframed and relabeled. The previous name plates referred to the “First Life Cycle”, which had garnered so many odd looks from visitors. Replacing it is a simple date of birth and date of cryopreservation. The pictures are now in standard matching frames, matted in archival quality material. [SVS]

Patient Care Changes
The vacuum problems with the bulk tank identified last month were fixed after we discovered a leaky valve. To replace it we drained the tank over the course of a couple of weeks, using the liquid nitrogen to fill smaller vessels during regular patient maintenance.

For several years, oxygen sensors have been installed in the Patient Care Bay as a safety precaution in the event of a liquid nitrogen spill. These sensors have been moved to the new Patient Care Bay, along with the connecting fan system. The system used to control the fill of our dewars was redesigned and a preliminary prototype has been built.

Alcor has two new Bigfoot dewars, bringing our total of these large patient containers to 12. [TJ]

Northern California Training
Bill Voice held a training session in northern California April 22-23. It went well, with 4 local team members attending. Training included our biohazard lecture, which is the first lecture each year for any group to ensure our team members remain up-to-date on safety protocols. We covered patient handling, sternal intraosseous vascular access, cardiopulmonary support, use of a new respiratory impedance device, and a mechanical ventilator. A full walk-through of the stabilization was then performed. [TJ]

Membership Statistics
On April 30, 2006, Alcor had 793 members on its Emergency Responsibility List. Six memberships were approved during this month, no memberships were reinstated, two memberships were cancelled and no members were cryopreserved. Overall, there was a net gain of four members this month. [DC]

Next Board Meeting
The next Board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, June 3, 2006, at 11:00 AM (MST). Board meetings are typically held on the first Saturday of the month at the Alcor facility (7895 East Acoma Drive in Scottsdale, AZ). Members and the public are encouraged to attend.

Employment Opportunities
Have you ever thought about joining the Alcor team? We have opportunities for licensed Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, Registered Nurses, Lab Technicians and more to join our nationwide Transport Team. Participation is on a contractual basis. You’ll be given cryonics training enabling you to participate in our patient rescue and transport cases. Licensed professionals do not have to be Alcor members to join our team. We welcome your expertise and interest. Send your resume to:

Alcor United
Alcor members have a new forum where they can meet and chat with other members. Get to know other cryonics supporters in your area and around the world by visiting Alcor United (www.alcorunited.org).

Alcor News #50

Alcor News, April 2006
Your source for insider’s info April 2006, #50

Patients Moved
After literally years of effort, finally everything was in readiness and our patients were moved into a new, much roomier location in our building on April 19. (Actually, all but one patient, who was moved over the following morning, April 20.) A crane service handled the main details. Some half-dozen 9,000-lb Bigfoot dewars were gently hoisted by forklift and crane and deposited in their new location. This seemed a thoroughly routine task for the movers and was completed in about two hours. We are all pleased that the move was largely uneventful and our patients are safely placed in their new location (see photo). [MP]

This issue of Alcor News is coming out a bit later than planned due to a heavy work load over the past few weeks, particularly the move of our patients (see below). We thank the reader for patience and hope to be back on a regular schedule soon. [MP]

This bulletin is sent via email to anyone who requested it. Please do not reply to this message. Send comments, suggestions, or complaints to the editor, Mike Perry, (). Subscribe/unsubscribe information is at the end of this newsletter. Contents are copyright 2006 by Alcor Foundation.

Authors This Issue: Jennifer Chapman [JC], Diane Cremeens [DC], Tanya Jones [TJ], Mike Perry [MP], Sergey Sheleg [SSH], Steve Van Sickle [SVS], Website Working Group [WWG].

Cryopreservation Case
One of our members (A-1237) suffered a sudden cardiac arrest sometime during the night of Feb. 27- 28 while at his home in Ohio. He lay undiscovered until his wife checked on him at 9:30 local time on the morning of the 28th. Paramedics were called, and the Coroners office initiated an investigation. After some discussion the wife wanted to waive the autopsy. (The Coroner had a policy that any autopsy would be fully invasive.) Luckily this option was allowed and the autopsy was avoided. Toxicology samples were taken to assist in the determination of causes of death.

The patient arrived at Alcor at about 11:30 a.m. Mar. 1. With a delay of between 34 and 42 hours since arrest, there was no cryoprotection. Instead we decided to take a few moments to establish acoustic monitoring of the brain, a slight change from our previous protocol in this sort of case; cryogenic cooling then commenced. This is Alcors 74th patient.

Another case was expected soon for a new member who had signed up with terminal cancer, and discussions continued for several weeks, as we attempted to arrange the stabilization well. Unfortunately, all this planning was for naught: the member contacted us late in March to cancel the arrangements. [TJ]

Research Update
Alcor’s Chief Research Scientist, Sergey Sheleg, finished the research paper About autolysis of the CNS neurons based on research data from the research project Dynamics of hypoxic brain damage after normothermic cardiac arrest and will send it to the peer-reviewed research journal Pathology International for publication. The paper interestingly shows an absence of autolytic (self-induced) damage in the brain up to six hours after cardiac arrest at room temperature (20 C), but signs of apoptosis (cell self-destruction) appear after nine hours.

Dr. Sheleg also started work on a new research project. He will be analyzing the intracellular damage (damage within the cells) of brain tissue using electron microscopy. His analysis will compare tissues that were cryopreserved with different cryoprotectants (M22 vitrification, glycerol, and direct freezing in liquid nitrogen). In this way we can compare the quality of preservation obtained with (1) our new vitrification protocol, (2) an earlier method using glycerol, and (3) straight freezing with no cryoprotection. [SSH]

Tim Reeves Incarcerated
The sentencing hearing of Tim Reeves on March 31 was attended by Tanya Jones and Stephen Van Sickle. Convicted of embezzling some $177,000 while a bookkeeper at Alcor, Reeves must now serve 12 months in the County Jail, to be followed by 5 years of supervised probation, with restitution to be determined by a hearing in May. The judge allowed that he could participate in a work furlough program, provided he meets its qualifications. Reeves read a statement in court expressing his remorse and asking for mercy. He requested the opportunity to contact Alcor to apologize, but was directed by the Court not to contact the victims. He was immediately taken into custody to begin his sentence, though that was something of a formality as he is currently serving 60 days for a DUI conviction. [SVS]

Florida Case
Alcor has received the settlement paperwork for the long-standing case involving a Florida member who was cryopreserved in 2004. We get uncontested custody of the patient, the $100,000 cryopreservation minimum, and $77,500 of our attorney fees. This money has been deposited in our lawyers escrow account, and once we review and sign some final documents, he will be sending us a check. [SVS]

Alcor Conference Registration
Registration for Alcor’s conference on October 6-8 will begin in May. Check the Alcor website (www.alcor.org) in a few weeks to take advantage of early rates. [JC]

Alcor Expands
Alcor took possession of unit 105 of its building April 1. This unit, with minimal modification, will allow us a separate and dedicated space for storing the transport vehicle, building and stocking transport kits, building perfusion tubing packs, and mixing perfusate. All of the lab space we currently have and the old Operating Room will be used exclusively for research. This space in turn will include small and large perfusion labs, a cryobiology and biochemistry lab, and a laboratory instrument room.

This is enough work space to keep several researchers working simultaneously full time. The usefulness of this space is not just that it allows us to forego some planned construction, but it also allows us to substantially increase our capabilities. For the first time in my experience, Alcor now has adequate technical and laboratory space. [SVS]

Bulk Tank Now in Service
Alcor’s bulk tank (the tank that holds spare liquid nitrogen) needed to be repaired before moving our patients. Like other containers of cold liquids, the tank is a double-walled vessel with a vacuum between the walls for insulation. The tank was prepared and received its first fill of liquid nitrogen. Some further problems developed but these fortunately were not too difficult to fix, and the tank is now in service.

The 900-gallon tank will be important to our expanding operation and should reduce the frequency of liquid nitrogen deliveries while providing a reservoir for use, among other things, in patient cooldowns. [MP, TJ]

UK Training
Alcor held a training session in Peacehaven, England on the weekend of March 11-12. It went extremely well, with around 25 UK and German attendees. Members of both Alcor and Cryonics Institute were trained in the Alcor stabilization protocols, as well as a few non- members. We made the decision to train anyone who wished to attend so we could continue promoting the Cryonics UK team. Training covered many topics and included a full walk- through of the stabilization process with participation by a portion of the trainees.

We intend to make UK training a regular portion of our annual training schedule and will be upgrading their stabilization equipment at the first opportunity.[TJ]

Membership Statistics
On March 31, 2006, Alcor had 789 members on its Emergency Responsibility List. Six memberships were approved during this month, no memberships were reinstated, two memberships were cancelled and no members were cryopreserved. Overall, there was a net gain of four members this month. [DC]

Next Board Meeting
The next Board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, May 6, 2006, at 11:00 AM (MST). Board meetings are typically held on the first Saturday of the month at the Alcor facility (7895 East Acoma Drive in Scottsdale, AZ). Members and the public are encouraged to attend.

Employment Opportunities
Have you ever thought about joining the Alcor team? We have opportunities for licensed Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, Registered Nurses, Lab Technicians and more to join our nationwide Transport Team. Participation is on a contractual basis. You’ll be given cryonics training enabling you to participate in our patient rescue and transport cases. Licensed professionals do not have to be Alcor members to join our team. We welcome your expertise and interest. Send your resume to:

Alcor United
Alcor members have a new forum where they can meet and chat with other members. Get to know other cryonics supporters in your area and around the world by visiting Alcor United (www.alcorunited.org).

Patients Moved Well

Okay, maybe the patients themselves didn’t move so well, but the staff and the hired crane and forklift operators moved them nicely. As mentioned also in a brief Alcor United post, “no dewars were dropped, dinged, banged or otherwise harmed” in the changing of locations. The old patient care bay is holding the two single-person cool-down dewars, a -140 degree C freezer, and a metal cabinet for wrenches and gloves and such. The new patient care bay seems a lot more full now, with all the dewars nicely in a row. (We have pictures that I hope to see posted soon.)

That old care bay will now become a consolidated filing and supplies room; the old cool-down bay will become our training area; and the freezer will be decommissioned for a while, but will eventually move into the research area for exploring higher temperature patient care alternatives.

We’re extremely happy to see this step done, as it finally means we’re nearing the end of the on-going construction. Moving the patients has launched a cascade of physical tasks that must now be done. Moving boxes, people, equipment; reorganizing each space; pitching and tossing where possible…. Call me silly, but I’m excited.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day. We’ve been waiting for over a year. Tomorrow we move the patients.

The construction isn’t done. As everybody already knows, we’ve been involved in a dispute with the construction company over the completion of this project. They basically abondoned it for a long while last year, during a time that we had more intense concerns than riding herd on languishing construction people. Unfortunately during that time, the construction company became over-extended and suffered serious critical personnel injury. Once we turned our attention back to that painfully-late project, it was too late to save it gracefully. Instead, it has been frustrating. (We’re still trying to finish, but it finally won’t be much longer.)

The liquid nitrogen plumbing isn’t quite done. We will not have automated fills of the dewars for at least a week after the patients move. We’ve been pulling our entire nitrogen supply off the bulk tank since it was filled last week, but we still haven’t pulled enough to replace the broken valve. Hugh, as the critical individual on this project, has decided his annual-and-only vacation at the Space Access conference is more important. We’ll have to fill the dewars manually (as they need it), and Hugh will be involved with all of them until the plumbing is complete.

If there is a critical juncture in this move, it’s in the fact that the plan involves using a crane to pick the dewars up and swing them around to the new space (lifting only a few inches off the ground). We know we can roll them and all the wheels are greased, so we just have to put them in reach of the crane. We’ll be testing the lifting lugs, and on some dewars that are more than a decade old. The patients are safely submerged in liquid nitrogen, but we’ve been boiling off the uppermost layers to reduce the weight of the units. That will reduce the load on the lugs somewhat.

We’ve never had any of these dewars fail (or fall) with patients inside; but like the delicate move from California, this move is fraught with the potential for disaster.

We believe it will be fine and that all will be well and the new space seem used after so long unfinished. But there’s that niggling doubt, that concern for defenseless things, furry or otherwise, that this could go horribly wrong.

We have tried to engineer this move for safety. Hiring professionals to do the heavy lifting, instead of rolling dewars by hand along the heavily sloped parking lot… that was for patient and staff safety. We have installed a new hoist, that will simplify the moving of patients, if a dewar should suffer a leak. We weren’t able to obtain a plasma cutter in time for the move, and that may become a time-sensitive issue if one of the dewars impacts. (We have cutting tools, of course, but they would take longer in extracting the patients than the beam would.) We do have a spare dewar and enough liquid nitrogen to fill it and the means to do so quickly.

We have also tried to engineer it for speed. We don’t want the bays to be split any longer than they have to, and we don’t want to have to do this two days in a row. The plan is good. The plan should work.

Betty Bulk Tank’s first fill

Today we took a major step in improving patient care, in that we filled our new 900-gallon bulk tank for the first time. This poor tank had been neglected for several years for several years before we spotted it on the web; it had even been exposed to the elements since before our purchase in July, 2003. When we finally rescued it in November, 2005, it had rust spots, broken valves, and a large layer of dust.

Betty cost $12k when newly-used and can hold 900 gallons. She cost more than $3k for shipping and off-loading, and $2500 for repair and restoration. When new, these tanks go for $45k, not including shipping/off-loading. We like the price, and we like the added comfort of additional nitrogen on-site.

Hugh Hixon has been working hard to restore it to operational status. He changed the vacuum valve and modified the tank to accommodate nitrogen (originally configured for oxygen); and though we’re still working on plumbing the patient care bay for the patients, we decided it was time to partially fill the tank. I won’t comment on how we watched the wrong gauge, and filled nearly-full as opposed to part-way. …

We were only certain she was ready to fill, because Hugh had been testing — and fixing — the vacuum for many weeks. The first thing he did when it landed on the doorstep was apply a vacuum gauge and pump. Checking the vacuum pressure and the quality of the insulation were the quickest way to establish how much the refurbish would cost us.

At first, the vacuum gauge read more than we would have liked. We measured over 40 microns of gas pressure. Using a vacuum pump, we tested the insulation. That +40 micron measurement was not sustained as we continued to pump. Once the reading was below 1 micron, we stopped the pump and checked to see how the pressure responded. It rose, but with ever smaller slopes. If the vacuum has risen with consistent slope, we would have known that it was a leak, even if it was a slow leak. That this slope declined in steepness indicated a different problem.

The “getter”, a chemically-reactive lining in the vacuum that resembles kitty litter, has collected too much gas over the years and was releasing those bubbles into the vacuum. With each declining slope, we were seeing improvement in the filter these tanks have. Isolating the problem to this saturated filter was a good thing. It got better.
We waited to order a fill until the getter seemed appropriately out-gassed. And we decided to test fill.

Today’s fill was not without incident. Hugh and the nitrogen-supplier technician (an all-around useful cryotech guy) were both on hand to supervise the fill. One valve needed immediate replacing. That was accomplished with supplies on-hand. We also discovered a minor problem with a threaded valve. Replacing this valve requires we drain the tank, and we’ll be filling our portable dewars for some time to come. All nitrogen level maintenance will be done off the new tank until it’s low enough to replace the damaged valve.

Before people panic, this bulk storage tank has already been measured at better-than-industry standards of holding a vacuum of 4 microns for more than 24 hours. We’ll fix the valve, and more nitrogen will be available to the patients on demand.

All told, this project has cost us $12k, +$3k for shipping and off-loading, and $2500 for repair and restoration. Restoration is still on-going, insofar as it needs a fresh coat of paint. This will be done soon, and the patients will be moved in a week; bulk tank ready or not.

Media This Month

A record number of distinct computers visited Alcor’s website in February (30,270).

Media participation this past month includes:
Zig Zag: The cryopreservation filming for this documentary took place in February as did sit-down interviews of Alcor representatives and members. The producers informed us that they intend to include Arthur Rowe in the documentary as a skeptic of cryonics.

CNN: As a result of the “Good Morning America” piece, CNN contacted Alcor about a piece for “Anderson Cooper 360” with on-air reporting by Sanjay Gupta, their medical correspondent. We expect this piece to focus on the medical aspects of cryonics and include a member interview. We will announce when to watch for it.

Scottsdale Times: Also as a result of recent coverage, a reporter interviewed Tanya Jones, took a tour of the facility, and met with David Pizer about his wealth preservation arrangements.

Nouvo (Switzerland): This is Swiss Television’s newsmagazine devoted to technology, science and communications. Alcor provided B-roll footage to show an example of a cryonic suspension facility in the US, while the rest of the report discussed cryopreservation activities in Europe.

Big Aussie Breakfast: Tanya Jones gave a 10-15 minute radio interview for this morning show.

ABC News, Barbara Walters Special: Alcor was contacted about a Barbara Walters Special to focus on how to live longer and stay younger. This piece is in the initial stages of planning.

Alcor News #49 March 10, 2006

Alcor News, March 2006
Your source for insider’s info March 2006, #49
Tim Reeves Pleads Guilty
Former Alcor bookkeeper Tim Reeves, in a plea agreement, has pled guilty to 1 count of Attempted Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices. As part of the deal, he will be incarcerated in the Maricopa County Jail for no less than 8 months, and following that will be on probation for a total of 3.5 years. We will be applying for restitution in this case. Sentencing will be on March 31, 2006, at 1:30 pm before Judge Richard Gama at the Maricopa County Superior Court, Central Building. [SVS]

This bulletin is sent via email to anyone who requested it. Please do not reply to this message. Send comments, suggestions, or complaints to the editor, Mike Perry, (). Subscribe/unsubscribe information is at the end of this newsletter. Contents are copyright 2006 by Alcor Foundation. Authors This Issue: Jennifer Chapman [JC], Diane Cremeens [DC], Tanya Jones [TJ], Sergey Sheleg [SSH], Steve Van Sickle [SVS], Website Working Group [WWG].

Cryopreservation Cases
Some further details on last month’s case: On February 6 we were preparing for the cryopreservation of member A-1356. She was to be transported via air ambulance to Arizona, but her heart stopped before the flight time. The southern California remote kit was nearby her, as were Alcor team members in rotation as a precautionary measure. Unfortunately, her decline occurred extremely rapidly. Upon pronouncement, only one team member was on site. He administered and circulated some of the stabilization medications and began surface cooling. Once additional team members arrived, the patient was sent to a local facility for blood washout.

Because of the timing, we were unable to transport the patient to Alcor until the next morning. Her heart stopped about 15 minutes after the Department of Vital Statistics closed, and the county did not have provisions for after-hours access. Our cooperating funeral director worked with the family to ensure the paperwork was prepared for immediate submission in the morning, including driving to the physician’s home to obtain a signature on the death certificate. Unfortunately, he filed for the wrong permit. This error cost an additional three hours in transit time.

When the patient, a whole-body, arrived at the Alcor facility in Scottsdale, the open heart surgery was completed in short order. Cryoprotection began 75 minutes after her arrival. It continued through terminal concentrations, with the arterial, venous and burrhole samples being in close agreement.

Cooling was carried out in accordance with standard protocols, and the patient appeared to experience six cracking events during the temperature descent. She was transferred to a patient care dewar on February 23, 2006, and became Alcor’s 73rd patient.

Our second case in February was the sudden demise of a member in Ohio, A-1237. The 54-year-old gentleman with no known medical conditions died in the early morning hours of the 28th. His wife contacted Alcor after calling 911. With the cause of death uncertain, the police detectives contacted the Coroner’s Office. We discussed the possibility of a minimally invasive autopsy to establish the cause of death (information which is also of use to us). Unfortunately, county policy dictated that if an autopsy were to be performed, it would be comprehensive, compromising the cryopreservation. Furthermore, the autopsy would not even be scheduled until the next morning.

Because of the member’s long-time and strong desire for cryopreservation, his wife waived the autopsy in order to respect his wishes. The patient was released to a cooperating funeral home that same afternoon and transported to Arizona via commercial carrier. He is cooling now and is Alcor’s 74th patient. [TJ]

Research Update
The LESA fiber optic spectrofluorometer (see right) was tested using the Russian photosensitizer drug Photosens. Photosens appears to be a very useful agent for measuring cerebral circulation. This model can be used for testing different protocols related to improving perfusion in the brain during cryonics procedures.

Russian 5-aminolevulenic acid (5-ALA) photosensitizer was tested as a possible agent for a real-time test of tissue viability. The preliminary data showed that this drug does not penetrate the blood-brain barrier. The same experiment will be done using the lipotropic derivative methyl-5-ALA. [SSH]

2006 Conference Dates
Alcor has set the date for its 2006 conference: October 6-8. The location and speakers are still being determined. Registration will begin in a few months. [JC]

Transport Team Matters
We held the southern California training session the weekend of Feb. 18-19, covering biohazard protocols, sample collection, and the use of new devices deployed for stabilizations (intraosseous infusion and a respiratory impedance device). We also completed a stabilization simulation and held a debrief for local team members on A-1356.

Unfortunately, this was the last time we’ll be able to use our usual training facility. Our long-time southern California Co-Coordinator is closing up shop. If anyone wishes to volunteer a new location or has recommendations, please email Bill Voice ().

Three new team members are available in Arizona, thanks to Bill’s tireless recruiting efforts. Two EMTs and one respiratory therapist have been trained in the stabilization procedures and are available to participate in local standby and transport procedures. [TJ]

Media This Month
A record number of distinct computers visited Alcor’s website in February (30,270). Media participation this past month includes:
Zig Zag: The cryopreservation filming for this documentary took place in February as did sit-down interviews of Alcor representatives and members. The producers informed us that they intend to include Arthur Rowe in the documentary as a skeptic of cryonics.

CNN: As a result of the “Good Morning America” piece, CNN contacted Alcor about a piece for “Anderson Cooper 360” with on-air reporting by Sanjay Gupta, their medical correspondent. We expect this piece to focus on the medical aspects of cryonics and include a member interview. We will announce when to watch for it.

Scottsdale Times
: Also as a result of recent coverage, a reporter interviewed Tanya Jones, took a tour of the facility, and met with David Pizer about his wealth preservation arrangements.

Nouvo (Switzerland): This is Swiss Television’s newsmagazine devoted to technology, science and communications. Alcor provided B-roll footage to show an example of a cryonic suspension facility in the US, while the rest of the report discussed cryopreservation activities in Europe.

Big Aussie Breakfast: Tanya Jones gave a 10-15 minute radio interview for this morning show.

ABC News, Barbara Walters Special
: Alcor was contacted about a Barbara Walters Special to focus on how to live longer and stay younger. This piece is in the initial stages of planning.
Many of the above articles are available online (http://www.alcor.org/press/newsstories.html)

Membership Statistics
On February 28, 2006, Alcor had 785 members on its Emergency Responsibility List. One membership was approved during this month, no memberships were reinstated, three memberships were cancelled and two members were cryopreserved. Overall, there was a net loss of three members this month.

Next Board Meeting
The next Board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 1, 2006, at 11:00 AM (MST). Board meetings are typically held on the first Saturday of the month at the Alcor facility (7895 East Acoma Drive in Scottsdale, AZ). Members and the public are encouraged to attend.

Employment Opportunities
Have you ever thought about joining the Alcor team? We have opportunities for licensed Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, Registered Nurses, Lab Technicians and more to join our nationwide Transport Team. Participation is on a contractual basis. You’ll be given cryonics training enabling you to participate in our patient rescue and transport cases. Licensed professionals do not have to be Alcor members to join our team. We welcome your expertise and interest. Send your resume to:

Alcor United
Alcor members have a new forum where they can meet and chat with other members. Get to know other cryonics supporters in your area and around the world by visiting Alcor United (www.alcorunited.org).

::
:: http://www.alcor.org
:: 877-462-5267
End of Alcor News bulletin #49 dated March 10, 2006.
©2006 Alcor Life Extension Foundation. All rights reserved.

Tim Reeves Pleads Guilty

Former Alcor bookkeeper Tim Reeves, in a plea agreement, has pled guilty to 1 count of Attempted Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices. As part of the deal, he will be incarcerated in the Maricopa County Jail for no less than 8 months, and following that will be on probation for a total of 3.5 years. We will be applying for restitution in this case. Sentencing will be on March 31, 2006, at 1:30 pm before Judge Richard Gama at the Maricopa County Superior Court, Central Building.

M22 Implementation

Alcor has implemented a new whole-body cryopreservation procedure which uses a new cryoprotectant solution, M22, licensed from 21st Century Medicine. The new cryoprotectant is perfused throughout the entire body using the same procedures required for glycerol cryoprotection; but while it cryoprotects the torso, arms, and legs, we are confident that it is also vitrifying the brain. The main difference, beyond the composition of the solution, is that neurovitrification can be done without separating the brain from the rest of the body.

This new whole-body procedure will now be standard for all members currently signed up as whole body, as well as for those whole body members who have executed an open option contract.

The important thing to realize about this process is what it cannot do. This is not whole-body vitrification, in the sense that the entire body is vitrified. Significant portions of the body do not cryoprotect sufficiently to vitrify, mostly because things like fatty tissue and skeletal muscle are not well-vascularized. This new procedure may not be as optimum for brain cryoprotection as a simple neuro procedure would be, because of the somewhat longer cryoprotection and cooling times. Conversely, compromises needed to protect the brain may lead to under-cryoprotecting the body, in less ideal cases. But the good thing to remember is that brain vitrification is now available to those who wish to remain strictly whole-body, and that the entire body is cryoprotected intact.

A significant amount of engineering work was done here at Alcor to ensure the proper use of M22. A new circulating chiller and perfusion circuit were needed, as were controlled-temperature enclosures for both the patient and the perfusion circuit to allow safe perfusion at temperatures well below the freezing point of water. The patient enclosure allows further cooling after cryoprotection, to at least -30 or -40 Celsius, reducing the hazards of temperature fluctuations while moving the patient into the next stage of cooling. The credit for this engineering work belongs to Hugh Hixon and Tanya Jones, who have done a wonderful job implementing the new procedure.

Those interested in neurovitrification and whole body cryoprotection will no longer have to face the sorts of compromises they did in the past, and we believe this is a significant advance in our capabilities. For those who would like to know more about M22, the composition and effects have been published in the scientific literature listed below [reference 1]. Electron micrographs of the ultrastructure of brain tissue vitrified with M22 have also been published [reference 2] and are available on the Alcor website at http://alcor.org/library/alcor-new-york-academy-of-sciences-paper/.

Further information and micrographs explaining the switch to M22 technology for all Alcor cases can be found on our website at http://www.alcor.org/library/new-cryopreservation-technology/.

As explained in reference 1, M22 has been shown to be compatible with high viability of tissue slices and with consistent survival of kidneys after transplantation. This allows the unprecedented vitrification of the human brain within the intact human body using a solution that is in principle capable of preserving tissue viability as measured by present-day methods. However, to be sure that the brain will vitrify in compromised human patients, Alcor currently must perfuse M22 for longer periods of time than those shown to preserve viability in model systems. In addition, M22 has not yet been shown to preserve the viability of the brain in model system studies.

Nevertheless, the use of M22 allows Alcor to come closer than ever to achieving the goal of in situ brain vitrification using perfusion conditions that preserve tissue viability by current standards. It keeps Alcor on the road to the possible, eventual attainment of this goal. [SVS/TJ]

(1) Fahy GM, Wowk B, Wu J, Phan J, Rasch C, Chang A, Zendejas E. Cryopreservation of organs by vitrification: perspectives and recent advances. Cryobiology. (2004) Apr;48(2):157-78. http://www.21cm.com/pdfs/cryopreservation_advances.pdf

(2) Lemler J, Harris SB, Platt C, Huffman TM. The arrest of biological time as a bridge to engineered negligible senescence. Ann N Y Acad Sci. (2004) Jun;1019:559-63. Review. http://alcor.org/library/alcor-new-york-academy-of-sciences-paper/

Progress Toward Intermediate Temperature Storage

In the previous Alcor News we reported that Alcor has acquired the prototype of an Intermediate Temperature Storage (ITS) device developed by Brian Wowk of 21st Century Medicine. (For an explanation of why ITS is desirable, please check the explanatory section in Alcor News #13 dated July 1st, 2003.)

Our new lab assistant, Todd Huffman, has been studying Brian Wowk’s design and has visited 21st Century Medicine to discuss reliability issues and possible modifications. Since the ITS pod will be cooled by positioning it above a pool of liquid nitrogen inside a Dewar, we have been debating which type of Dewar to use. An off-the-shelf industrial design is available, large enough to contain seven ITS pods (one in the center and six around it, in a hexagonal pattern). However, our proprietary “bigfoot” Dewar design is much taller, only slightly more expensive, and we have had extensive experience operating them over the past decade. A “bigfoot” seems our best option at this point.

In theory, it would be tall enough to contain a stack of three layers of ITS pods, with seven pods in each layer. The problem is that a tall Dewar will allow a more severe temperature gradient. In other words, the pods at the top will tend to be warmer than the pods at the bottom, and ITS requires that the temperature should be controlled with some precision.

One way around the problem is to use an internal framework of metal such as aluminum, which is a good conductor of heat and could minimize the temperature gradient. Another possibility is to fill the lower part of the Dewar with conventional neuropatients fully immersed in liquid nitrogen, with a single layer of ITS pods above them at the top. The disadvantage of this configuration is that we would have to modify our standard neuropatient containment shell. Also the ITS pods would get in the way during insertion or removal of neuropatients.

Another issue which Todd is investigating is the optimal refill system to maintain the reservoir of liquid nitrogen. A gravity feed would provide the security of constant refill without pumps, but would be grossly inefficient since the pipe connecting it with the Dewar cannot be optimally insulated and will promote nitrogen boiloff.

Using a pump for automatic refill sounds intuitively risky, but low-temperature pump design has been perfected in industrial applications, and a Dewar refill pump probably would run only for a few minutes per week. Two pumps could be installed in parallel for redundancy.

Todd has been tabulating every conceivable failure mode, including liquid-nitrogen level sensor malfunction (Dewar will boil dry), failure of temperature sensor inside ITS pod (patient may become too cold or too warm), wire-break failure, pod heater failure, control system failure, and many others.

Probably we will need four months to explore all these failure modes and develop satisfactory solutions, after which the construction and testing of actual patient storage units may take another two months. This is longer than we would like, but obviously the system must be absolutely reliable before we can offer it as an option to our members.

We can’t predict how much ITS will cost relative to conventional Dewar storage until we have established all the components in the system and have measured the liquid nitrogen boiloff rate.