No, we have not forgotten about standby and transportation.   So where are we?

Let me give you where we are in point form so I don’t overload the blog with too many details.

• Have been working with the US and UK cryonics organizations to put together the equipment and procedures.
• Have recently purchased a battery driven chest compression system (Lucas 2) for about $9,000.  We have been searching for a while and found one in excellent condition at this very good price.  These electric models usually cost nearly twice this amount.
• Now working to put together the rest of the major equipment
  • Ice/cooling bath
  • Temperature monitors
  • Inhaler or similar
  • Device to administer stabilization etc. medications
  • Stabilization chemicals
  • A container to hold the Ziegler box at dry ice temperature for shipment to the US
  • Perfusion equipment
  • Other miscellaneous items, including, based on information obtained from Dutch Cryonics, commercial refrigeration to store the perfusion chemicals
• Regarding the perfusion chemicals there are essentially 2 broad categories:
  • The old style glycerine based chemicals, which have a longer shelf life (probably a few months), but are not so readily available any more.  This is not vitrification so destructive ice crystal formation is a real issue.
  • The new style vitrification chemicals, which have a maximum of a few weeks refrigerated shelf life*, but are more readily available from the US and allow proper vitrification before transport. Once vitrified the patient is however very temperature sensitive (temperature must remain at about dry ice temperature).  Obviously, for eventual local suspension storage this is not an issue, but it is a big issue for eventual suspension storage in the US because of the long transportation times involved.   See the next point.
• Have now developed a method (inspired by UK cryonics and endorsed by CI) to expedite this transportation to the US, which will allow vitrification from Australia to the US with almost no timing risk.  Hope to have it finalized before about mid next year.  This means that the latest vitrification technology can be safely applied to patients in Australia for transportation to the US facilities.
• Funeral director network for Australia-wide major city coverage has been identified, but need confirmation and training.
• The best and lowest cost way to handle the standby and transportation is via a new non profit, which we will be setting up next year.

* I had been thinking normal domestic refrigeration at about 2 to 5C.  On 26 November 2016, our friends in the Dutch Cryonics Organization have informed me that if refrigerated at about -20C, then the VM1 solutions from CI can be stored for years.  This probably applies to the older style glycerine based chemicals as well.  Many thanks to Jappie Hoekstra for picking this up and letting me know.  All the very best for all the good work they are doing in the Netherlands and in Europe. 

In Australia, after about age 70, life insurance, the usual method of financing cryonics, is not readily available.  Accordingly, plans for cryonic suspensions need to be more specifically tailored to the individuals situation.  It is however, still possible to obtain a cost effective suspension with the right arrangements.

This brief summary by Cryonics Services Australia (CSA) provides some of the considerations that need to be addressed.  Just to recap, the role of CSA is not to provide these services, but it is to provide coordination and guidance as regards cryonic requirements.  In effect, like “one stop shopping”.   The final recommendations and arrangements are provided by qualified experts.

Cryonics Facility and Standby/Transportation:

• The choices are for this post life insurance age group are essentially like those choices for most age groups
• However, because of age, there may be a need for more emphasis on what is immediately available with less flexibility for future change
• Immediate options include Alcor (US), Cryonics Institute (US), with the option soon of Stasis Systems Australia(Southern Cryonics).  Neutral Archives Foundation (although not fully cryonics) may be an option too.

Financing of arrangements:

• Critically important for this age group, because life insurance is not practical or readily affordable
• Many other affordable options are available, but must be specific to a person’s situation
• These include: funeral insurance, superannuation, estate planning, joint accounts, reverse mortgages, fixed asset to cash management, loans, Stasis Systems Australia Full Membership, and others

Other considerations that may become more important in this age group are the setting up of very long term trusts to make funds available after potential revival in the future.

Let me know if you would like a free plan set up for your specific situation.

Regards,

Peter T

I have now developed plans for several clients.  To give you an idea of what CSA does, the following is an example plan.  As discussed in a previous blog and also mentioned below, the development of this plan for your specific case is free.

 THIS IS AN EXAMPLE PLAN                                   

THE ACTUAL PLAN IS TAILORED SPECIFICALLY FOR EACH CLIENT                                 

Dear Mr ABC,

Re: Plan for Cryonics services

Thank you for your interest in the services Cryonics Services Australia Pty Ltd (CSA) provides.  I am pleased to construct a plan for your specific cryonics needs.  I need to provide the caveat that neither I nor CSA, who I represent, are providing financial, insurance, legal or any other similar services advice or specific products.  All these will be provided by licensed qualified specialists.  I am coordinating these services for your cryonics needs.  Also, the numbers/amounts shown in this letter and its attachments for these services are approximate numbers based on my experience.  The actual quotes will be provided by the qualified specialists. Unless otherwise stated the dollars are Australian dollars.

You will note that the plan may be set up for upfront fees from about $600 and ongoing fees of $650 to $850 a year, mainly for life insurance.

If you recall the process I outlined for you, this plan is step 1.  Our review of this plan is step 2 and the actual implementation is step 3.  There is no fee from CSA for steps 1 and 2.  For step 3 there will be fees from CSA and some of the service providers.  For CSA, the fee will depend on what services you desire CSA to coordinate and I can give you an approximate idea of this fee in this document.  Also, I can provide approximately what the fee will be for the professional service providers, but the actual will depend on their fee structures.  You are under no obligation to proceed to step 3.   Please feel free to contact me if this is not clear.

THE DETAILS YOU PROVIDED TO ME:

Name: ABC

Address: xxxxxxxxxx

Gender: Male

DOB: early 1960’s (age early 50’s)

Email: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.com

YOUR OBJECTIVE:

To be cryonically suspended by a professional cryonics organization upon your legal death and to have the funds to do this.  Additionally, to have adequate funds at the time of your possible deanimation.  You fully understand that there are no guarantees in cryonics and, in particular, eventual revival after suspension is not guaranteed.

YOUR PLAN:

Cryonics Organization

I would recommend using Cryonics Institute (CI) in the USA at this time.  They have the lowest cost structure and it is easier to change your mind later.  The reason you may want to change your mind is that Stasis Systems Australia (SSA) in Australia may be a more desirable option for you when they are operational.  This could be about 2 years or so in the future.

Current costs at CI: US$35,000 for a suspension.  This does not include standby or transportation. You do not pay this now.  This will be paid for through life insurance or similar financial vehicles.  Please note this is the current amount so we need to work out what you may need in the future.  We will do that in the section on life insurance.

Current ongoing costs at CI: US$195 member fee for the first year, then US$120 a year there after.  You pay this after joining this organization.

CSA would complete all the CI documentation (some is quite complex) for you and explain it to you before submitting to CI.  You may, with the appropriate notice, cease your agreement with CI at any time.  This gives you flexibility for the future if you wish to change to another organization.

Long Term Trust (Note that this is not necessary, but included for completeness)

This is to put money aside for the future.  We would recommend putting about $50,000 aside for this Trust.  You do not pay this now.  The Trust will be established with a recognized independent Trust organization.  We would recommend the Trust be set up for 300 years.  The time limitation is important to let the trust meet its objectives.  Should you not be revived before 300 years the funds will go to your charity of choice.  We can discuss this more when we discuss the Trust arrangements.  You also mentioned that you would like your estate upon death to go to the Trust.  We can, with legal assistance, arrange your Will to reflect this.

Cost to Establish Trust: Using the CSA template trust agreement the costs will be from about $5,000 paid in legal and other fees now to set up the trust.  You may veer from the template trust agreement, but the legal costs can start to mount very quickly.  We recommend staying with the standard trust deed, which will be explained to you.

Base amount to put in the Trust:   We recommend life insurance to cover $50,000 to be put in the trust.  Please note this is the current amount so we need to work out what you may need in the future. We will do that in the section on life insurance.

Additional Amount to put in the Trust:   You indicated you would like some or all of your estate funds to go to the trust upon your death.  We will need to have a lawyer make the necessary provisions in your Will.  If there are no complications this will cost less than $500 to change your Will.

Life Insurance

There are many financial vehicles that can be used to finance your future suspension. Because you are at an age that can be insured, we would recommend life insurance at this stage.  The best life insurance for your case would be a fixed annual premium life insurance until death.  Unfortunately it is not readily available in Australia. It is however, available in the USA.

At your current age, the plan would be for you to initially take out Australian life insurance.  If, in the next say three years, you traveled to the US this would be switched to US life insurance.

Stage 1

Australian life insurance for about 3 years.

We would recommend a policy for about $150,000.  Please note that a qualified life insurance broker will make the final assessment.  This would be made up of the following beneficiaries:

The cost of this life insurance policy would be approximately $500 per annum in year one, growing to about $700 per annum in year three.  Please remember these are approximate and do not take into account your specific situation.  A licensed life insurance broker will provide a detailed quote should you move forward with this plan.

Stage 2

During this time period we would discuss and evaluate the benefits of obtaining US life insurance.  You have to visit the US to do this, but you could be a tourist in a hotel.  We would make the arrangements with our contacts in the US.  Because this will be at a fixed premium rate per annum and will apply for your whole life time the recommendation will be for a much higher amount payout to allow for inflation in the costs of the services and other requirements, some of which we already covered and others you may wish to consider, which we will discuss with you.  We would recommend a policy of about US$250,000.   Depending on the age you take out this policy, the premiums will be fixed at about US$2,000 a year(assume age about mid 50’s), but this premium is fixed until end of life and usually it is self funding after age 90.  As a comparison example, if you were taking out Australian life insurance, which increased every year, the premium at about age 80 for a $250,000 pay out policy would be about $35,000 a year and continue to steeply climb every year.

Summary of Costs

CSA is also planning on offering, for a subscription fee of around $200 a year, ongoing advice as your situation changes and a range of other services.  These can be discussed with you if you are interested.

Peter Tsolakides

Cryonics Services Australia Pty Ltd

I am getting close to finishing the standby and transportation processes, which have been drawn heavily from the practical work done by Alcor, CI and the UK cryonics organization.  I have however, restructured the material to be consistent with our setup and requirements in Australia.  The below is a snapshot of part of the manual to give you a feel of the methodical approach I am taking.  You will note that each of the participants has some level of involvement.  There are four key roles however, for handling the standby and the transportation.  These are the Cryonics Coordinator, the Local Non professional, the Local Professional and the Central Professional.

Each will have a carefully defined role and will have the training to perform that role.  I am working on that now.  Please note that some of these services may not be available at all locations.   For example, there may not be a Local Non professional in your area.  The below plan does have secondary coverage for this.

A bigger problem is that you may live in a remote area.  There is no simple coverage for this.  I know this sounds drastic, but I would recommend being in an area that can be better administered.  Talk to CSA about how well your location may be serviced.

“Hey Peter,” you may say to me, “There is an awful lot here to try to remember”.  “How can anyone do all this, especially when they may be ill or be depending on family to get it done?”

You do not have to remember any of this.  If you have made formal pre-arrangements with CSA, all you or your representative need to do is call the CSA Cryonics Coordinator.  Everything will swing into motion.  There may be other groups that may be able to offer this service too.

It’s like everything in cryonics though.  If you leave it all to the last minute, nothing gets done.  You have to have made those pre-arrangements.   CSA’s role is to make all easy.   To do all this there are costs, mainly to the funeral homes, which CSA can assist is explaining how you can provide for these.   I outlined all this in a previous blog on standby/transportation costs. 

I see a lot written about this.  I am going to provide my understanding.  I have visited both Alcor and CI and discussed this topic frequently within cryonics circles.  Also, in doing all the preparations for CSA I have looked at legal, hospital arrangements and other implications.

There are basically two broad situations (and a lot in between) that may occur when you need a suspension.

The easier one first.

You are in a hospital (or other medical facility) and your time is near, but it is not critically near.  I am going to be blunt and say you have more than just a couple of days to live, but you may not have more than say a couple of weeks.  At this point you need someone to contact a central coordinator for your standby and transportation.  If it is volunteer help such as Cryonics Association of Australia (CAA), contact them.  If you have a contract with Alcor or CSA, contact their coordinator.

I did say this is the easier one, but even this has some obvious complications.  The biggest issue is that you recover.  I think that would be wonderful, but some costs have been incurred and have to be covered.  The coordinator will need to make a judgement call to keep costs to the essentials.  But if costs have been incurred you will need to pay for them.  Talk to CSA to find out more about all this.

I am assuming you have pre-planned all these arrangements.   If you have not, and now are critically ill in a hospital trying to do it (or someone is doing it on your behalf) at the last minute it will probably mean that things will be delayed.  It is also very likely you will not have the funds to get it done.  All this should be pre-planned as part of your future suspension.  Talk to CSA about pre-planning it.   We can arrange it with a volunteer organization, Alcor or CSA.  It will be your choice.

The more difficult one is where it is an emergency.  This assumes you are not at a medical facility.  For example, say you have a heart attack at home.

!!! FIRST THING IS TO CALL THE EMERGENCY SERVICE (000) !!!

Here is what Dennis Kowalski, president of CI, has to say about this.

That is by far the most important first step.

Then you, or someone who knows your cryonics requirements, should notify your cryonics coordinator. Again this could be volunteer help through CAA, or more professional assistance through Alcor or CSA.  It depends on who you have arrangements with.  Depending on their capabilities the coordinators will set things in motion consistent with your requirements.

I have heard some advise that if you die at home you should be put in an ice bath. Here are some problems with that.  Who has declared you dead?  Is it a proper legal death?  If someone puts you in an ice bath before you are declared legally dead there may be implications that the ice bath killed you.  Some suspicion creates legal issues, which delay things and perhaps even means an autopsy is required.  You need to avoid anything like that.

Best thing you can do if something happens at home is for the emergency service (000) to be called as quickly as possible.   If the situation is critical and someone can apply compressions to the heart, they should do so. The emergency 000 people will give advice on what should be done. Their advice should be followed.  Artificial respiration and heart compressions are usually a recommended course of action to provide a better chance of eventual recovery.   Additionally, if you are mortally ill, heart compressions are a good preparation for a suspension.  For both a recovery from your illness or for cryonics suspension the main aim is to get blood flowing to the brain for as long as possible.

I want to stress again that the most important step is to get medical help through the emergency service.  The strong likely chance is that you can be medically resuscitated and not need a suspension.  In the worst case, where you do need a suspension (i.e. you do die), being in a hospital or medical facility means obtaining a death certificate can be facilitated with minimal risk of your death being considered unusual, possibly requiring further investigation and perhaps autopsy.  Usually a hospital needs the bed quickly so they may want to release your remains as quickly as possible to a qualified professional (e.g. funeral director).   That is to your advantage as you may get a death certificate quickly.  The cryonics professionals handling your case can get you out as quickly as possible to a suitable location to begin the various processes necessary for your transportation and eventual suspension.

In summary the most important action is NOTIFICATION. First the emergency services (dial 000) and then your standby/cryonics coordinator.

Regards, Peter

Even though it is not the “sexiest” part of cryonics, standby and transportation is nonetheless very important.  No, there are no shiny tanks and liquid nitrogen “smoke” bubbling out to capture your attention, but going by the old adage “rubbish in/rubbish out”, the better the standby and transportation, the better the chances are of a good suspension.

So what is available in Australia?  At the moment some, but not very much.  A good bet is to join Cryonics Association of Australia (CAA) and hope that a volunteer may be able to assist with it all when the critical time comes.   My estimate for a very simple standby with some limited transportation, but with no overseas transportation, costs in the order of $10,000 (this may be more if include additional funeral charges and transportation).  The costing can however vary widely, depending on individual circumstances. The CAA process probably involves a simple straight freeze.  Please remember though that CAA is a volunteer group and we should be very thankful we have even that.  I can get better costing for your individual situation if you contact me.

Let me add that if you are an Alcor member and have arranged for all the coverage (costs about $300,000, which includes about $60,000 for overseas cover), then you get full body standby/transportation using the latest pre-vitrification technology all professionally done.   For a neuro only, this is of the order of $150,000.  Use these numbers as a guide only.   I have tried to work them in A$ for very general examples. If you want the more accurate costs for your particular case, please go to the Alcor web site or discuss with me separately.

Back to what else is available in Australia if you are not an Alcor full overseas member.

If you go the Cryonics Services Australia (CSA) route, then at the moment the cost is about $30,000 to $40,000 which, includes transport to the US facility.  Please remember we are not talking about the suspension here.  This is just the standby and transportation.   All this is with professional central coordination, but not yet using the latest pre-vitrification technology.   At the moment the latest pre-vitrification techniques are not available in Australia. That is one of the things CSA is now working on.  See my previous blog.   If you go with the future (I hope in about 1 year) CSA route, with full pre-vitrification, then about $35,000 to $45,000.

Again a lot of this costing depends on your specific situation so if you are interested, please let me know.

All the above for CSA assumes you are in a hospital (or similar) in a major city and you need to be transported to the US.  Reduce these numbers by about $10,000 if Stasis Systems Australia (SSA) is up and running… perhaps in about 1 to 2 year’s time.  Remember the SSA fees for suspension are not expected to include standby/transportation.  SSA is being developed on the basis of being similar to the Cryonics Institute (CI) model.  i.e. the patient has to essentially be delivered to the CI door and then CI takes over.   So for SSA, when operational, you need to add the CAA or CSA standby/transportation fees to the SSA fees for complete cryonics cover.  I told you cryonics arrangements can be very confusing.  That’s why we formed CSA (i.e. Cryonics Services Australia) to help you through all this, so you do not have to worry about it.  Talk to us at CSA and we can help you with all this

For your information the CSA route also monitors your health to see if some sort of early warning can be set up. The aim is to get to you as fast as possible.  We hope the CSA route in the future (in about 1 year) will be at a level to match Alcor’s very professional system.  With our local knowledge and ability to get to a patient faster locally, we are confident we can provide a first rate service.

Excluding any normal suspension, storage etc. costs,  standby and transportation will cost you very approximately the following:

Wow!  You are talking about costs that are about as high as the suspension itself.  Yes we are, but as I said, if this is not done properly then the suspension is not done properly.  Also, in all this I have not mentioned the costs, which I briefly touch upon in my other blog, if things go well and you survive your hospitalization and do not need to be suspended.

If you want more information, please feel free to talk to me.  CSA has looked quite deeply into all this and you may be surprised at what is available to make it affordable.

Regards, Peter T

Just to be clear, CSA does not handle suspensions or storage.  This will still need to be paid for separately to the professional organizations like Stasis Systems Australia, Alcor or Cryonics Institute, at the time of your suspension.  CSA will coordinate all your initial requirements, including an appropriate life insurance policy, so that your ongoing costs to enable you to make these and other payments, at the time of your suspension, will be about the cost of a cup of take-away coffee a day.  CSA will charge a fee to set all this up.  We project it to be from $1,500 to $4,500, depending on your requirements.

Okay, first question I would ask, “Isn’t a fee of  $1,500 to $4,500 a lot of money just to set up a life insurance policy?”

It is a lot of money!  But for the amount of work involved, it’s worth it.  We are trying to make cryonics accessible and easy for all interested.

Here is a basic outline of what we will do.  You could do all this yourself, but it can be time consuming, complex and in some cases much more expensive. We have standardized processes to handle the details. We will be using standard templates to average the costs of doing this over many clients and, as a result, keeping the cost per client low.

We will:

1. Organize affordable life insurance with a secure life insurance company that accepts a third party beneficiary.  Doing this yourself without the expert contacts is very difficult.
2. Complete all the administrative requirements with the cryonics service provider.  The US providers have complex requirements.  Many pages of legal paperwork.  You also need to coordinate with them and confirm your life insurance details.  We have close contact with these providers and experience in their requirements.
3. Ensure that everything is done “by the book” legally with all the appropriate consent forms.
4. Set up your requirements with the overseas providers so you may switch at a later date, if you wish, to use Stasis Systems Australia when they are available.
5. Coordinate setting up a long term trust with reputable secure organizations so you will have funds in the future.  CSA has not yet finished this, but the cost so far is running at about $20,000 and still counting.   It is a very expensive exercise to do by yourself.
6. Set you up so that you will not lose your funds should you not be revived.  They will go to a charity of your choice or a future relative.
7. If you stay with us over the longer term, then we will advise you on what you can do in your older age when life insurance becomes unaffordable.  There are many options and we have access to professionals who can help to keep things affordable.
8. If your suspension is with an overseas provider, we can coordinate the transportation and limited standby required.  Also, we can coordinate the Australian and US legal issues of you being transported to the US.
9. Provide support to your family in their time of grief through compassionate explanations of the processes involved; coordinate a respectful memorial service, should they need it; and organize professional counseling, again, should they need it.
10. For our fee of $1,500 to $4,500 we will organize your cryonic suspension and future funds in such a way so that your ongoing costs will only be about the cost of a cup of take-away coffee a day.

Regards,  Peter T