Dear Alcor Members and Friends,
2025 is wrapping up, and it’s been a year worth reflecting on. You’re part of the Alcor community because you believe life is worth fighting for – and this year, we made meaningful progress on the infrastructure that makes that fight possible. Alcor has been serving its members for half a century, and your support made this year count.
TLDR: Lots of progress, more to come, donations make it happen. Don’t need convincing? Donate now – or read on for the full rundown. 😉
2025 brought a wave of new team members and new initiatives – part of a broader push to strengthen the organization and build out Alcor’s infrastructure. Here are some of the highlights:
Alcor.org got a full rebuild this year – modernized design, clearer navigation, and content that better reflects where the organization stands today.
Our new member portal was a big quality of life addition this year, changing how members interact with Alcor. Documents, payments, medical info, emergency contacts, and much more – all in one place. Over two-thirds of our membership has already made the switch. If you haven’t yet, it’s worth doing before the new year.
We expanded the member services team to improve administrative responsiveness – faster answers, smoother onboarding, and more consistent follow-through on member requests.
Alcor Canada received official charity status from the Canada Revenue Agency – a bureaucratic win that took real effort. Canadian members can now receive potential tax benefits for donations made through our dedicated Canada donation page.
DART – the largest standby, stabilization, and transport network in the field – grew its footprint this year with a new traveling surgeon, a portable washout system staged for field use, and a dedicated bay at headquarters for staging equipment and preparing deployments. We even had to establish a reserve team after receiving more applications than we had positions for – that depth means faster response times and fewer coverage gaps.
Our two full-time researchers settled into a productive rhythm this year, and the lab saw major equipment buildout – including a fully operational in-house CT scanner that lets us validate cryopreservation quality in real time. The capability now exists for pre- and post-cooling scans, improving our ability to assess and refine preservation protocols. There’s still an active matching donation for additional research equipment if you’d like to contribute.
The engineering team added a third member this year, landed a patent on the liquid ventilation system, and keeps pushing on intermediate temperature storage and portable cryoprotection. The team also expanded into an adjacent building and continues to outfit their new custom-built workshop. In-house 3D printers now produce medical-grade components rapidly – work that used to take weeks and cost significantly more.
November broke our all-time record for new member signups, by a wide margin. More people joined Alcor in a single month than in any month in our 53-year history.
The Rothblatt family’s recent seven figure gift – one of the largest individual donations in Alcor’s history – reflects real confidence in where we’re headed. It will anchor a major fundraising initiative we’re announcing in early 2026.
Reflecting that energy, our staff were excited to get behind the camera and put together a short video highlighting some of this year’s progress, and how your contributions made the difference.
As a reminder, Alcor is a nonprofit organization, and member dues only cover a portion of our operating budget – the majority comes from donations.
Everything above took resources. If you’ve been considering a year-end contribution, now’s the time.
Stock and crypto donations made before the end of the year can carry tax benefits and help Alcor continue building.
We’re entering 2026 with a larger team, stronger infrastructure, and a fundraising initiative that we’re excited to share with you soon – thank you for being part of it.
Happy holidays,
The Alcor Team
