Nov 14

Some questions on Standby/Transportation

Some good questions were raised about what we are doing with standby and transportation.  I try to answer them below.  This is the summary I posted on the CAA site.  I will expand and update over time.

1. When do you expect to be up and running?

I am hoping for about mid 2017, but some of the items still to purchase will cost serious money, so it may depend on that.   Also there is some training etc.   Let’s say into 2017.

2. How would things work for those wishing to avail themselves of the services of this non-profit wing? A subscription model? Would this include both access to the thumper and use of perfusion chemicals?

Yes something like a subscription model, then a cost covering payment when the person actually needs to use the service.

3. How quickly could you get the unit to locations outside of Sydney in an emergency? Obviously in my case I’m most interested in Melbourne, but I’m guessing others may be interested in other locations… such as Perth.

We have a funeral director in Sydney who has some expertise and resources in many of the things that are useful to cryonics.

  • He is sympathetic to what we are doing.
  • He has strong links with specific other funeral directors in the major cities around Australia.
  • He has expertise in sending many deceased people interstate/overseas so he can handle paperwork/regulations/logistics etc. with minimal disruptions.
  • He has done at least one cryonics patient in the past that I know of but there could be more.
  • He has the Ziegler type containers for air transport of deceased.
The process will go something like this.  Let’s assume the patient is in a hospital in say Melbourne (it could be Perth).    We would need at least 3 days notice.  The funeral director says that we would usually have this.   Shorter times may work, but it gets increasingly difficult for a good final suspension.    Please also note that the below is really simplified and covers what we may consider a typical case.  We have looked at other scenarios, but let’s keep it simple so as to not make this email book length.   The below should give a patient a good final suspension.
  • Patient’s representative notifies cryonics contact or central funeral director (in Sydney) giving about 3 or more days notice
  • Perfusion chemicals (as medical supplies) immediately ordered from US and express freighted to central funeral director.
  • Central funeral director immediately works with his satellite funeral director in other capital city.   Ziegler, thumper, other equipment and stabilisation chemicals sent to satellite funeral director by express flight.
  • Satellite funeral director with equipment (and perhaps a private nurse, cryonics representatives and volunteers) is on hand at hospital when patient dies.  Obtains death certification and commences to apply various stabilisation measures.
  • Patient taken to satellite funeral director premises and brought to just above ice temperature (not frozen).
  • Patient air shipped to central funeral director in Sydney at just above ice temperature.
  • Central funeral director does perfusion and brings patient to dry ice temperature.
  • Patient sent to US at dry ice temperature.  If SSA is operational and patient has arrangements with them, patient sent to SSA at dry ice temperature.

 

Nov 10

Standby/Transportation Progress

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. 

Jul 15

Guideline plan for seniors

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

Jul 15

Template Plan for Client in Mid 30s

The following is a template plan for someone interested in cryonics and is in their mid 30s.   Please note that it is in some ways generalized so if you wish a more specific plan tailored to your situation, please let me know.  Preparing the plan is for free.

TEMPLATE PLAN FOR CLIENT AGED MID 30’s

ACTUAL PLANS TAILORED TO INDIVIDUAL’S SPECIFIC SITUATION

Dear ABC,

Re: Plan for Cryonics services

Thank you for your interest in the services Cryonics Services Australia Pty Ltd provides. I am pleased to construct a plan for your cryonics needs. I need to provide the caveat that neither I nor Cryonics Services Australia, 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 as applicable in 2015.

In the process Cryonics Services Australia uses, 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 Cryonics Services Australia for steps 1 and 2. For step 3 there will be fees from Cryonics Services Australia and some of the service providers. For Cryonics Services Australia, the fee will depend on what services you desire Cryonics Services Australia to coordinate and I can give you an approximate idea of these fees 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. Please feel free to contact me if this is not clear.

The details you have provided me are:

Name: ABC

Address: XYZ

Gender: Male/Female

DOB: Age mid thirties

Email: Email@email.com

Other information: Good health

Your Objective:

To be cryonically suspended by a professional cryonics organization upon your legal death and to have the funds available to do this.  To have adequate standby/transportation coverage to enable transportation to the cryonics facility. To put aside an amount of the order of $50,000 (in 2015 $) upon death for a long term trust to provided funds at the time the possible reanimation. You fully understand that there are no guarantees in cryonics and, in particular, eventual revival after suspension is not guaranteed.

Quick Summary:

You will see in this plan that you can be fully covered for all aspects of a professional cryonics suspension for a cost of about $560 a year ($46 per month or about $1.53 a day), mainly for life insurance.   If you do not wish to set it all this up yourself because of all the complications it may involve, and want to use Cryonics Services Australia to professionally set it all up for you, there is an up front fee of $600 plus the same $560 per year.

Your Plan:

Cryonics Organization

At your age it is unlikely you will need a suspension for many years so you have several options. I will summarize a few here with my recommendation for the best at this stage of your life.

At this relatively young age the costs are relatively low to enter cryonics.   Assuming your health is good, you are readily insurable for a low cost; of the order of a few hundred dollars a year to get a few hundred thousand dollars coverage. I will cover more about this later in the section discussing life insurance.

Currently Alcor and the Cryonics Institute, both in the US, are the only reasonable options for a cryonics organization. Assuming a neuro (head only) for Alcor and a full body suspension for Cryonics Institute, the costs are about $130,000 and $45,000, respectively, payable at the time of your suspension.  Both these charges are for suspension and storage only. You basically have to get to the facility door in the US, so you need to add standby (professional preparations at your hospital bed) and transportation (the preparations before and the actual transportation to the cryonics facility). This is covered later in the plan.

At a later stage, when Stasis Systems Australia (the soon to be built Australian cryonics facility, which will be operating under the name Southern Cryonics) is operational, you will have an added option of a suspension in Australia at a cost of about $80,000 (payable at the time of your suspension), again based on the patient getting to the facility door, i.e. you still need standby and transportation, but obviously cheaper because the suspension is in Australia.

All these costs are usually paid for by life insurance which is discussed later in this plan.

Before expanding on these possibilities further, there is a another option with Stasis Systems Australia you may wish to consider. That is to become a Stasis Systems Australia Founding Member now. A Founding Member invests funds of $50,000 before the facility is operational to help with the development of the facility. Yes, this is a large sum of money, which needs to be paid before the facility is running so it is obviously not for everyone. But there are benefits. For the $50,000 you get one free suspension for yourself or anyone of your choice, at any time after the Stasis Systems Australia facility is operating. If the suspension is for someone else, this cost of $50,000 compares very favourably with the full client cost of about $80,000, which will apply after Stasis Systems Australia is operational.   If the suspension is for yourself and you need a suspension in say 50 years time, an Alcor suspension (neuro), a Cryonics Institute suspension, and an Stasis Systems Australia normal client suspension will very approximately cost about $570,000, $200,000, and $340,000 respectively at that time, whereas the Founding member’s offer is locked at the original $50,000 you had already contributed.   This $50,000 again compares favourably with these other options, especially when you adjust for time-value of money and take into account life insurance premiums you would have had to pay over 50 years to cover these much higher costs of suspension at that time.

Once more, this is not for everyone, but if you are interested in this exciting development please let me know and we can discuss further. For the rest of this plan I will assume you do not take up the option of being a Founding Member of Stasis Systems Australia, although you may still wish to be a normal client of Stasis Systems Australia after they are operating.

As of now, I would recommend going with the Cryonics Institute option at about $45,000, as mentioned previously. It is the lowest cost option currently available even though you still need to be transported to the US.   Cryonics Institute also charges fees of about $160 a year for membership.

When Stasis Systems Australia is up and running you may wish to review their capabilities and become a client of theirs thereby being suspended in Australia. As I mentioned before, their fees to you as a client, would be of the order of $80,000, payable at the time of your suspension, excluding the cost of standby and transportation. It is a viable future option and we can discuss the possibility of you shifting to Stasis Systems Australia when they are operational.

This overall recommendation should be revisited every ten years or when your situation materially changes. At a later stage in your life, you may wish to make further decisions about other cryonics needs and which organization to use.

Standby and Transportation

Standby/Transportation is a very important consideration, particularly if you are to be suspended overseas, but even standby/transportation to the Stasis Systems Australia facility (when it is operational) has costs.   For Cryonics Institute and Stasis Systems Australia, the actual standby, stabilization, preliminary perfusion and transportation will be conducted by a recognized Australian funeral home with the training, experience and capability to handle this professionally.  Alcor has their own standby/transportation processes. As the recommendation focuses on using Cryonics Institute, then at a later stage, possibly Stasis Systems Australia, I will not discuss Alcor, but if you wish more information please let me know.

For a Cryonics Institute suspension, the standby/transportation fees will range from about $28,000 to $50,000 depending on a number of factors including whether you seek simple perfusion or full pre-vitrification perfusion (not available yet in Australia) and your location.   Cryonics Services Australia coordination, should you wish it, will be about $4,000.   When Stasis Systems Australia becomes operational this standby/transportation fee will be about $10,000 to $25,000 for the funeral home plus about $2,000 for Cryonics Services Australia coordination, should you wish it.

Documentation

I would recommend you obtain Cryonics Institute membership. The documentation is quite onerous so Cryonics Services Australia can process this for you at a fee which is included in its costs for handling other initial arrangements, or you can simply do yourself.   The other document I would recommend is to have your next of kin sign a document confirming agreement with your intention to be suspended.   Even though you become a member of Cryonics Institute, you can always change your mind at a later stage and shift to another cryonics organization.

Long Term Trust

These may not be applicable to you now, but I am including the below for completeness.

Long term Trusts are to put money aside for the time of your potential revival in the future. The trust will be established with a recognized independent trust organization. This may mean directing the funds through your Will or life insurance to the trust organization or it may mean directing your funds to a non profit organization or a trusted relative to set up the trust for you. Also Cryonics Services Australia may, with professional legal assistance, help you arrange your Will to reflect this.

Having said the above to provide you with some perspective of what is available, with your current relatively young age, I would recommend it is too early to consider these Trusts for yourself. At some future point in time we could discuss long term Trust arrangements for yourself.

Life Insurance

There are many financial vehicles that may be used to finance your future suspension. Because you are at an age and assumed health that can be readily insured, we would recommend, as previously mentioned, life insurance. I won’t go into all the complications of life insurance with you as these really start arising when you reach your fifties.   Suffice it to say, you should probably be insured for about a $300,000 payout. This will require a premium of less than $400 a year, depending on the structure. We can investigate this with life insurance professionals to get the best rate applicable to you and determine “sweet spots” for later changes of policy structures.   All this may not mean much now. We can discuss it, but it not so critical now and becomes a lot more critical for you as you become older; certainly past about 45 years of age, when insurance premiums start to escalate.   We will, of course, discuss all this with a life insurance professional and receive accurate quotes, if you decide to go ahead.

The $300,000 payout should be adequate to cover you over the next 10 years for a Cryonics Institute suspension, Standby/transportation, some inflation effects and some funds for a Trust set up at a later stage.   We can review again in 10 years. Also, if you change to the Stasis Systems Australia facility in that time, the $300,000 payout is still applicable.   Please note that at your age, policies of less than about $300,000 pay out are usually not available because the yearly premiums are so low that life insurance organizations do not think they are worthwhile.

Recommendation Summary

So that you have a framework of what is available I have provided a wide range of options in each of the areas, with some recommendations.

In summary, I would like to recommend that for now you obtain a Cryonics Institute cryonics suspension arrangement.   In addition, to have arrangements available through Cryonics Services Australia or separate arrangements, if you do not wish to use Cryonics Services Australia, for adequate standby and transportation. To finance this I would recommend taking out life insurance with a payout of $300,000, which will both cover your immediate and your foreseeable future cryonics needs. At some point, when Stasis Systems Australia is up and running, to evaluate if you wish to shift your arrangements to Stasis Systems Australia. I would also recommend to not consider long term trusts at this time.

At the very minimum to again review this whole plan every 10 years.

Summary of Costs

Although it may not be your ultimate intent to be suspended with Cryonics Institute, by following this plan, you have arrangements in place immediately with flexibility on future options at a minimal cost.   You will have a relatively low cost life insurance policy with the financial capability to use Cryonics Institute or whoever you wish, including transportation to the US. This satisfies your current needs. Additionally, the amount of your life insurance provides you with ample scope to shift to other options in the future, including shifting to Stasis Systems Australia when they are operational.

Estimated Upfront Costs
Cryonics Services Australia fees $600 If desired for Cryonics Services Australia to set up life insurance, documentation/administration with Cryonics Institute, and other administration requirements. You may of course do this yourself and save these fees.
TOTAL $600 One time.
 
Estimated Ongoing Costs per year
Life Insurance $400 For payout of $300,000
Cryonics Institute membership $160
TOTAL $560 Per annum
   
Estimated Costs at Time of Suspension   This is likely far in the future, but this gives an indicative amount in 2015 dollars
   
Cryonics Institute Suspension costs $45,000 Covered from $300,000 life insurance.   Will be $80,000 if later switch to Stasis Systems Australia
Standby/transportation costs to Cryonics Institute $40,000 Handled by Australian funeral home with professional experience in cryonics. They would quote actual rates. May vary depending on location of your demise within Australia. Must be prearranged. Covered from $300,000 life insurance. Cost will be $15,000 if later switch to Stasis Systems Australia.
Cryonics Services Australia coordination $4,000 Cryonics Services Australia coordination if desired. Depends on location and type of coordination required. Must be prearranged. Covered from $300,000 life insurance.
Balance to provide flexibility in arrangements and possible cost increase buffer because your likely suspension is far in the future. Also, may be used for long term trusts at some future time. $211,000 See comment below for “TOTAL”. Covered from $300,000 life insurance.
   
TOTAL $300,000 As you see from the large balance amount, there is some flexibility in this amount, but at your age, life insurance organizations do not typically insure for less than about $300,000

 

 

 

 

Mar 28

Example of CSA cryonics plan

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:

Cryonics Suspension    $45,000 (about US$35,000)
Long Term Trust    $50,000
Fees for Transportation and standby    $45,000
Other    $10,000
TOTAL $150,000

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

Estimated Upfront Costs
Setting up Trust from $5000 Includes initial trust fees, lawyers fees (Trust and Will) for template trust. Not necessary if do not wish a Trust set up)
Cryonics Organization $250 Cryonics organization US$195 in A$
CSA fees $600
TOTAL $850 (excluding Trust)
 
Estimated Current Ongoing Costs
Life Insurance $500 to $700 Yearly cost while using Australia life insurance for say 3 years. You may use Australian life insurance for longer than this but you need to determine a transition plan in your late 50s, otherwise the Australian insurance starts to become expensive. CSA can help at that stage.
Cryonics Organization $150 US$ 120 a year in A$
TOTAL $650 to $850 A year

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

Mar 27

Cryonics standby responsibilities

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. 

standby no1a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

standby no2standby no3b

Dec 12

What needs to happen at standby and transportation time

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

Dec 10

Standby/Transportation Costs

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:

Go the CAA route $5,000 to $15,000 (more if additional funeral and transportation charges)
Go the Alcor route About $60,000 above your normal Alcor costs
Go the CSA route (now) About $30,000 to $40,000
Go the CSA route (future) About $35,000 to $45,000
Go the CSA route (future) with SSA About $20,000 to $35,000

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

Apr 23

Aaron Drake, Alcor’s Medical Response Director, Training Visit

Judging from the feedback, the training visit by Aaron Drake, Alcor’s Medical Response Director, went exceedingly well.  The aim was primarily to provide training for professionals and laypersons on the newer techniques for partial vitrification prior to transportation to the cryonics facility.  These new methods allow patients to be brought down to dry ice temperatures (about -78 degrees C) and be partially vitrified.  Vitrification is a low temperature glass-like state which retains cell and organ structure with minimal damaging ice formation. This dry ice temperature state allows up to two weeks of traveling time enabling the patient to be transported overseas or the vast distances within Australia with virtually no deterioration.  Full vitrification may then be conducted at the destination point facility.

Phil and myself introducing Aaron

Phil and myself introducing Aaron

 

The event was a very successful collaboration between Cryonics Association of Australia (CAA) and Stasis Systems Australia (SSA) and, of course, all the others who had donated to make it possible.  I coordinated the event wearing my SSA Director’s hat for SSA, and Philip Rhoades, the Executive Officer of CAA and a Director of Neural Archive Foundation (NAF), coordinated for CAA.

 

 

Aaron Drake at the laypersons session

Aaron Drake at the laypersons session

The main sessions were over two days with additional feedback periods over the next couple of days, together with some very enjoyable social occasions.  The first of the main sessions was for professionals attended by 7 people from the medical and funeral industry.  The second was for interested laypersons and was attended by about 17 people.  While the events provided valuable training, it also allowed cryonists from around Australia to meet and share their enthusiasm and views regarding cryonics, as well as quite a few other topics.

Attendees interacting during a break in the layperson session

Attendees interacting during a break in the layperson session

We were also fortunate enough to have a team from Melbourne making a documentary on a cryonics topic who agreed to film the two main sessions using their professional equipment.  Philip and I also filmed most on it on our more modest cameras.  We therefore have a valuable record of the training.  For the professional session this will need to be combined with the more detailed professional processes Aaron has and will be sharing with us at a later date.

Although our primary purpose was to provide training we achieved so much more, which will be useful for cryonics in Australia.

  • We now have close contacts and a personal relationship with a network of professionals with training who we believe can cover most of Australia for preparation and transportation to a cryonics facility.  Again we will still need the more detailed processes from Aaron to complete this training.
  • We have a solid network of laypeople who can be involved in the less professional work associated with an early response to a cryonics patient’s needs.
  • We have the initial training material that can be used to train others both professional and non professional.
  • We had close cooperation between SSA and CAA and showed that if there are enough interested in these events we may plan more.
  • We developed a good personal relationship with Aaron and as a result strong links to Alcor for future joint cooperation activities.
  • One of the embalmers present is the Chair of the British Institute of Embalmers, Australasian Division, and has invited Aaron to present to a training session at their 2015 conference.

My next steps are to follow up on all these and, in particular, to develop suitable procedures and a network, which will be workable in Australia to cover standby, stabilization, partial vitrification and then transportation.  To this end I will also be traveling to the US in early May 2014 to talk further with those at Alcor and at the Cryonics Institute.  I will also be covering a wide range of other cryonics topics with them, which I will discuss in a subsequent blog entry.

Regards,   Peter T

Jan 15

Ten reasons why you should consider cryonics through CSA

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