14-year-old girl who died of cancer wins right to be cryogenically frozen

[symyjym]

I see. I did read somewhere the same thing does happen over time to human tissues. They did defrost one chap a while ago. He was pretty much mush. Grim

Maybe that chap was frozen in the 70's when the process hadn't been refined. Vacuum packing and putting in a fridge rather than going for the whole freeze might be a safer alternative if they haven't got around the freezing and defrosting issues.

 

[pastafarian]

If we are put it a standard chest freezer we would be ice crystalised, and when defrosted we would be mush. Cryogenics gets around this issue by freezing quicker than ice crystals can form.

freezer bags solve that problem,no need for expensive science gimmicks
you can get them in any good supermarket

i recommend the ones with a zip top though,easier to get the body in and out.

 

[Triggaaar]

We will be if humanity survives for as long as the dinosaurs! (Unless the supermice replace us in the next few thousand years of course).

But they won't be waiting that long before trying to bring frozen people back to life.

 

[Brovion]

But they won't be waiting that long before trying to bring frozen people back to life.

You cannot possibly know that with any certainty though, can you? This is all idle speculation on everybody's part.

 

[Triggaaar]

You cannot possibly know that with any certainty though, can you? This is all idle speculation on everybody's part.

Yeah I can. It's blindingly obvious that they're not going to keep people frozen for over a million years before attempting to bring them back to life.

 

[clippedgull]

Here is your cut out and keep guide to cryonics:

Cryonics involves using extremely low temperatures to preserve bodies in the hope that scientists will one day be able to revive them.

After a High Court ruling involving a 14-year-old girl who was granted the right to undergo the controversial procedure, we look at how it works - and what the critics say.

:: What is the difference between cryonics and cryogenics?

Cryogenics is a branch of science that looks at preserving materials through very low temperatures. The word comes from the Greek "kryos" meaning "frost" and "genic" meaning "to produce".

Cryonics refers to the technique used after a person's death to store the body at a very low temperature in the hope that they can be revived when a cure is found for their illness.

In reality, in layman's terms, the understanding of the words has been blurred so that we usually refer to people being cryogenically - rather than cryonically - frozen as a means of preservation after death.

:: What is the process?

When a person is declared legally dead, the first thing the response team has to do is ensure that the person's blood is kept pumping around the body.

Speed is of the essence. The response team will be at the hospital so that, at the point of death, it can move in immediately.

After that, the body is packed in ice and injected with various chemicals to reduce the risk of blood clotting and damage to the brain.

The body is then cooled to just above water's freezing point and the blood is removed.

The body's blood vessels are injected with a "cryoprotectant" solution to try to stop ice crystal formation in the organs and tissues and the corpse is cooled to -130C.

:: What happens to the body?

Once the team is satisfied with its work, the body is placed in a container which is lowered into a tank of liquid nitrogen, kept at -196C.

The body is then transferred to the storage facility - in the case of the British girl, in Michigan in the US.


:: How much does it cost?

It is expensive. The process for the teenage girl in this case cost £37,000 but it can go up to more than £100,000.

:: Where did the idea come from?

The concept was developed in the early 20th century. The first person on whom the process was performed after his legal death was Dr James Bedford, who died of cancer on 12 January 1967. His body has been moved several times and is now at Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona.

The day of Dr Bedford's death and cryopreservation is marked within the community as Bedford Day.

:: What are the criticisms?

This is a highly contentious area. Alcor's co-founder Linda Chamberlain says the company is providing a realistic service that gives hope.

Others are dismissive. Many scientists and doctors argue that it is unlikely that revival in such a way can be achieved because organs such as the heart and kidneys cannot be successfully frozen and thawed. They suggest cells will be damaged during freezing and cannot be returned to living tissue.

Ethics experts say it poses greater problems as a whole for society, as it would appear to be a way of delaying the acceptance of the death of a loved one.

 

[The Clamp]

The fact is that nobody is going to be bought back to life. In the unlikely event the boffins figured out a way to do such a thing they would only do it as a one off like Dolly. The population will be already overcrowded, the last thing we want is mass thawing of long dead, slightly odd people.

 

[symyjym]

It's not really about whether it works or not, I think it’s good for this young girl to have passed away with hope so I wouldn’t take that away from her if that’s all she had.

You never know it might work, it hasn't been proven impossible so therefore currently as we understand it there might be something in it. I doubt any of us here will witness any success though.

 

[Fungus]

The fact is that nobody is going to be bought back to life. In the unlikely event the boffins figured out a way to do such a thing they would only do it as a one off like Dolly. The population will be already overcrowded, the last thing we want is mass thawing of long dead, slightly odd people.

Yeah, apart from curiosity (and it would be pretty interesting for a while), why would future generations want any of us waking up? They wouldn't know us.

 

[marshy68]

I would have thought that if we advance enough medically to bring the dead back to life then the people that are alive already at this time would be living for 150 years or so? We cant look after our OAPs now sufficiently well enough so I cant see us in a few hundred years having the inclination to wake up dead people.

 

[Diablo]

Has anyone ever been succesfull in bringing someone back from the dead ?? dead for say a month or more ..... since the resurrection of Christ.

Sounds a load of Bollocks to me !!!!

 

[Diablo]

having the inclination to wake up dead people.

I struggle to wake up my perfectly healthy 20 year old son each morning......Not sure I`d like his Great,Great,Great Great,Grandson trying to wake me in 250 years time.

However Bet you have to kick em hard or Bellow loudly to wake them up after 250 years dead!!

 

[Triggaaar]

Minutes applause?

Mock the concept of freezing people by all means, but please don't mock the death of a 14 year old girl.

 

[Triggaaar]

Even if we could reanimate her 1000 years in the future, she won't know anyone and she'll have cancer.

I expect they'll be able to cure cancer in 1000 years time. She won't know anyone, she'd start again as a very famous individual.

 

[Triggaaar]

Yeah, apart from curiosity (and it would be pretty interesting for a while), why would future generations want any of us waking up? They wouldn't know us.

It's not about them wanting to. We'd just be receiving the service we'd paid for.

 

[Fungus]

It's not about them wanting to. We'd just be receiving the service we'd paid for.

Then you'd better hope your standing orders are up-to-date! And your bank's not gone bust, and inflation hasn't priced you out, etc.

They won't get any more reward by successfully defrosting you, than by switching you off (and saving on electricity).

If/when the technique has been perfected and proven, they'll be more interested in new customers who will pay a lot more.

There doesn't seem to be much incentive; and what's a disgruntled pile of mush going to do about it?

 

[Mr deez]

Couldn't imagine anything worse than waking up 200 years after dying.

 

[StonehamPark]

Couldn't imagine anything worse than waking up 200 years after dying.

Slowly dying at the age of 14, terrified.

 

[symyjym]

Couldn't imagine anything worse than waking up 200 years after dying.

That's because you'd have died a miserable cynical old git. How else would you espect to feel when you came back.

 

[Diablo]

I expect they'll be able to cure cancer in 1000 years time. She won't know anyone, she'd start again as a very famous individual.

Edmund II (died 30 November 1016), usually known as Edmund Ironside, was King of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. If only they`d frozen him we would be on the verge of waking him up 1000 years later.