> Becoming A Member: the FAQ (CONTINUED)

Q: OK. Say I've signed up and become a member. I've talked to my insurance agent and set up a policy naming CI as my beneficiary for the amount of the cryopreservation. Am I done?

A: No. You should certainly make practical local arrangements in case of emergencies. We supply a bracelet (or necklace), similar to a Medic Alert bracelet, that gives brief instructions and contact numbers; but you should ideally have more than that. You don't have to do it all at once, or all by yourself -- we'll help out. But what you really need to do is talk to people you know -- and people who should know about the decision, beginning with your relatives and best friends. Whether or not you think they will agree with your decision, you need to make your intentions clear to your family to avoid serious problems that could arise if you are in a near death situation and they are unaware of your cryonics arrangements.

Discuss cryonics with your doctor. Tell him or her about what you've decided. Your doctor may not only be sympathetic to your decision, but he or she also might be interested in having further information. If so, direct him or her to our web site at www.cryonics.org/

Whether he or she looks deeply into it in detail or not, though, request assistance if it will be needed. He or she should care about your desires as your personal physician. He or she will almost certainly be called in as you approach the point of legal death, and can be a great help with hospital personnel and authorities.

Generally, when people see that you're informed and serious and know what you're doing, they'll go along with your wishes.

And (again) if you give everyone you speak to the address of our web page, the additional information we have available there will not only help them to help you, but may even gain CI some additional members. And every time CI gets a new member, all the members benefit -- including you.

Q: When do I get my necklace or bracelet?

Once your funding is in place and your contracts have been signed by the Cryonics Institute Contracts Officer you can obtain your cryonics emergency necklace or bracelet. We also issue wallet cards and stickers with emergency contact information. For details about jewelry and wallet cards see Emergency Jewelry and Wallet Cards.

Q: Should I find a local funeral director?

It usually isn't a good idea to talk to a funeral director unless you are in immediate need of cryonics service. Funeral directors can become irritated when demands are placed on their time for which they are not being paid. And although funeral directors can be open-minded about cryonics, they may be suspicious when approached in the wrong manner.

The Cryonics Institute's funeral director is well connected with a funeral director network. If you should be in need of cryonics service he can quickly find a funeral director in your area. When funeral directors are contacted by another funeral director who explains cryonics to them, they are often much more receptive. And another funeral director can explain to them the technical details required to deliver cryonics service.

But if you are willing to pay a funeral director in advance for extra service, many will gladly provide it. Robert Ettinger, the founder of the Cryonics Institute, paid his local funeral director in Arizona $1,000 per year to have cryonics practice sessions. He also paid his funeral director to be standing by when his wife was dying -- and to promptly do CPR and cooldown.

Q: What if I want Standby and Transport from cryonics professionals?

If you want cryonics professionals to be standing by your bedside before and at the time of prononcement of death, you will have to pay extra. You can obtain a contract with the Florida cryonics company Suspended Animation. In the same way that CI has a Local Help Rider for funeral director services, we have a special Local Help Rider for people wanting Suspended Animation Standby and Transport.

To learn more about Suspended Animation Standby and Transport, go to our webpage Suspended Animation Standby for CI Members. Look first at Announcement Providing an Overview. Pricing is explained in detail in Details Concerning SA Standby and Transport for CI Members. A stepwise description of how to arrange SA Standby and Transport is found in How a CI Member arranges SA Standby and Transport.

Q: Can you give me advice about talking to my family?

A: We all like to have smooth relationships with the people we know and care about, and (unfortunately) we all realize that when you spring something new and unexpected on people, you don't always get an open-minded pat on the back for it, even if they're family and friends.

You should realize that you are not alone. There are a lot of people who've signed up and they have families and friends and co-workers and business associates just like you. They've gotten through it OK, and you will too.

Second, you should know that the reactions you're actually going to get may be better than the reactions you think you're going to get. But human beings come up with all sorts of human reactions. No matter what you do, some people will like it, some people will hate it, and most people really won't care that much about it one way or the other.

Concerning the negative reactions. Several members have assured us that it usually gets better with time. People who at first don't like your decision at all, gradually get used to it, and things settle down to normal eventually. Whereas the positive reactions generally stay positive. So things get better; they don't get worse.

Be understanding, and be polite. After all, they're surprised, and they (like most people) almost certainly have an incredibly poor or misinformed idea of what cryonics is all about. After all, you'd be upset too if you thought someone you cared about was foolishly throwing away immense amounts of money to quacks and weirdos and scam artists.

If they knew that the "quacks and weirdos" include scientists and physicians, and that people who do work for CI are often doctors, teachers, attorneys and CPAs who are unpaid volunteers -- they might think differently.

But they won't know these things unless you explain it to them -- and they won't listen unless you explain it in a calm and open and reasonable manner. People who are misinformed or caught off-guard can feel puzzled and threatened and be very rude. Don't be rude back. Don't get into a big argument. If their reaction is negative, tell yourself they'll get over it. In time, they often do.

Know what you're talking about. Inform yourself about cryonics. Read. Learn. Be able to defend your views - politely, calmly, and with good humor. But know what your views are, and what your decision is all about.

If they tell you it's against religion, ask them politely to quote the passage in the Gospels (or the Koran or the Torah or the Analects) where cryonics is explicitly forbidden. There isn't one.

The Cryonic Suspension Agreement gives legal authority to the Cryonics Institute for custody of your remains, but only if a hospital knows about it. If you are concerned that your next-of-kin might interfere with your cryonics plans if you become terminally ill or have a medical emergency, think seriously about finding a medical surrogate or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. Our Advanced Directives webpage has background information on this subject.

Q: I know what you're saying makes sense too - but after all, this is a personal matter, and I don't really want to announce my private decisions to the whole world.

A: Oh, we're not asking that. Of course we do encourage openness about one's decision and even activism among members, because getting the word out about cryonics will quite simply save human lives, and that's a good thing -- but we give our members complete privacy and discretion, if that is what they want. We won't list you as a member at all, if those are your wishes. CI guarantees complete privacy to members who ask it.

But for your own sake, you should definitely talk about your decision at least to your family, doctor and lawyer. The help of these people can mean the difference between life and death for you. Professionals generally keep private confidences as private as you want.

Q: And what happens when the time does come?

A: Well, if you become terminally ill or have any advance warning, then we strongly urge that you relocate near CI headquarters in Michigan, where we have a cooperating hospice. That is the ideal scenario: our most experienced people will be right there on hand, and can give you our best possible care immediately and with no unnecessary and potentially destructive delays. This is the best possible path to a good cryopreservation.

The second best, if you become ill and can prepare, is to notify us so that arrangements can be made in advance at your location. We will help you do so. 

If you live (or die) at a considerable distance or have a fatal accident, your doctor, or the person who reads your medical bracelet or wallet card, or whoever you've designated to contact us in case of a health emergency, will contact us. We'll get the nearest funeral director to you as quickly as we can -- before final legal death, ideally.

After you are declared legally dead, your body will be prepared and cooled and sent to the Cryonics Institute facility where the final perfusion and preparations take place. There your body will be gradually cooled to −196 degrees Celcius and immersed in liquid nitrogen in a protective cryostat.

Q: And what happens to me while I'm in cryostasis?

A: Physically? Nothing. At −196 Celcius, there is no further observable deterioration. What happens subjectively? Nothing. Probably the closest analogy would be to a patient in a deep sleep or a coma -- a cryo-coma -- that lasts for decades.

You won't be dreaming: dreams involve neurological brain activity, and there won't be any. So you certainly won't be experiencing nightmares. And you certainly won't be feeling any pain or discomfort whatsoever, for the same reason: those conditions are marked by brain activity, and in cryostasis there isn't any.

What happens to the soul? We don't know. But we do know -- for example -- that when children (who have drowned and been under water sometimes for hours, clinically dead throughout all that time) have been revived by cardiopulmonary resuscitation, their souls seem to be right there with them, none the worse for wear.

One billion Catholics believe that the soul unites with the body at the moment of conception and is present in the embryo. Thousands of human embryoes have been cryopreserved -- immersed in liquid nitrogen for years, revived, brought to term, and are now laughing and playing like any other new-born infants, well and happy in body -- and soul.

Q: You have religious members?

A: Yes. And non-religious ones.

Mind you, CI doesn't have any religious, political, or social "agenda" whatsoever: we welcome everyone, and we don't care whether you are Christian, Jewish or agnostic -- a conservative or a liberal, young or old, rich or poor, American, European, Asian, African, whatever. We regard cryonics to be a form or heroic medicine. Medical professionals should concern themselves with the medical problems, not with the ethnicity or personal characteristics of their patients.

Q: Tell me. What'll CI do if I die in such a way that I can't possibly be revived? Or if I wake up brain-damaged?

A: If you die in such a way that your body is completely destroyed - if you're lost at sea, or are burnt to ashes in a fire -- then the money you've set aside for cryopreservation will be disposed of in the way that you've asked. If you want it to go to relatives or to some charity, that's where we'll send it.

Many members leave something to the Institute, though, and we hope that you would consider doing so too. They seem to feel that if by chance they can't make it, they at least want to help people like themselves who like themselves were brave enough to try.

It is true that the conditions of your death (a car accident, or stroke) may be such that severe brain damage occurs. The question is: is it the sort of damage that can be repaired?

But this depends on the details. The brain has a tremendous amount of "redundancy" built into it. People who experience severe memory loss through stroke, for instance, often recover memories without the assistance of any technology at all.

Q: Who makes the decision when to revive cryonics patients?

A: The Cryonics Institute makes that decision. The first to be reanimated will probably be the last to have been preserved because those are the patients who have been cryopreserved with the best cryopreservation technology. CI will definitely not attempt revival when there is any doubt of success.

Q: Where will the money come from for reanimation?

A: When the costs of reanimation (revival) technology have dropped well below the amount of money required to maintain patients in cryopreservation, then the maintenance funds will no longer be needed for maintenance and can be used for reanimation. Preferably there will be money left over that can be used for the benefit of the patient.

Q: Can I establish a trust so that I will have money when I am reanimated?

A: South Dakota, Alaska, Lichtenstein, and a number of other jurisdictions have no law against perpetual trusts. The Reanimation Foundation manages trusts for cryonics in Lichtenstein (minimum funding $25,000).

At present the Cryonics Institute is making no effort to assist its Members in establishing perpetual trusts. We believe that a much higher priority is making every effort to ensure that cryonics works. This means improving cryonics technology, making the Cryonics Institute stronger and making attempts for Members to receive prompt and effective preservation procedures under all possible circumstances. Prompt and effective preservation certainly depends on having the right helpful people available when needed and ensuring that those who might cause problems do not do so. There should be no question about funding.

There are many problems and potential problems that deserve more attention than future money. What seems like vast wealth today may be trivial in a colossally wealthy future. But money will mean nothing if you do not survive because your cryonics arrangements failed. Giving money to the Cryonics Institute helps make your cryonics organization better able to withstand future political, economic and legal challenges.

Q: What about the world I wake up into? Will I be able to adapt to it? Will CI help?

A: Human beings have been adapting to the future since time began. (After all, you don't need cryonics to get there -- just wait a few years.) And people have usually found that they've been able to get by, and find things to enjoy.

We certainly don't believe that you will wake up into a world of chaos or oppression. A world that resembles Nazi Germany or Orwell's 1984 is simply not going to take the time or trouble to revive or maintain a cryonics patient. Only a world of peace, compassion, and some affluence will do that -- which is why we all ought to start working to help build such a world right now.

We think that the presupposition for cryonic revival is a world and a society in which human life is valued -- in which people work to save others and care for others. Only a society like that -- and "societies" like the Cryonics Institute -- will expend the research and effort necessary to revive you.

So we think that if you're revived, you will be among friends -- perhaps even among old friends, if you can convince some of your acquaintances to come along. And we'll do our best to see that CI will be there to help you adjust.

As for what society will be like -- well, beyond some obvious predictions such as "more technologically advanced", it is hard to predict.

Going to the future may be like going to a foreign country - like the Pilgrims coming to Plymouth Rock, or Jewish refugees arriving at Ellis Island. Things were certainly different for them at first. But when you think about it, they did pretty well, didn't they?

Q: It almost sounds too good to really happen.

A: We think there is a real chance  it can.

But. It can only happen if you join a cryonics provider. Like us.

Mind you -- even if you don't join, there's one thing you should definitely do: keep reading and keep visiting our web site. The Cryonics Institute isn't just concerned with helping its members reach the future. We want to help you live well better and longer in the here and now. Because the longer you live, the better your chances are to make use of the latest advances in cryonics technology.

The healthier your life style, the better your chances are of living long. The stronger you are financially, the easier you'll be able to fund your cryopreservation (and, we hope, support CI).

Join us. Choose life. Go directly to: Membership Application.