NEWS & VIEWS

CI’s President’s Report

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Cryonics Institute (CI) and of The Immortalist Society (IS) will be held this year on the last Sunday of September -- September 24, 2006 -- at 2pm at the CI Facility in Michigan. I highly recommend that CI Members attend the meeting, especially those who have not attended before. If you have any desire to see the CI Facility, the AGM is the best time to do so because it gives you the opportunity to meet Directors, Officers and of both CI and IS as well as to meet other CIMembers and to appreciate the issues facing our organization as discussed at the business meeting. You will also get the best tours of all our facilities at that time.

CI has too many voting Members living outside of Michigan for there to be an election of Directors at the AGM. So proxies will be mailed to voting CI Members (Members with contracts and funding in place) in August. We have a contest this year: six candidates for four positions. Statements from the candidates can be found elsewhere in this issue of THE IMMORTALIST.

The Directors of the Immortalist Society have agreed to ask voting Members of that organization to vote on a name change because of concern that the word "Immortalist" has too many religious connotations and is a public relations liability. Proxies will be mailed to Full Members of the Immortalist Society and the results will be announced at the AGM. At this writing there are only 17 Full IS Members, so by paying $75 to become a Full Member you can have to opportunity to cast an influential vote on the future name. Associate Members of IS can upgrade to Full by paying $50.

In early May we received our 74th Cryonics Institute patient, a mother who deanimated on Mother's Day. Of the most recent seven patients, five are mothers cryopreserved by their sons. For the first time since we have begun vitrifying the brain, we perfused the body. For the body we used ethylene glycol rather than Dr. Pichugin's vitrification mixture (VM). Our VM is good for vitrifying the brain, but causes too much edema when used in the body. The reasons for using EG rather than glycerol given by Dr. Pichugin were: "Concentrated EG solutions are much less viscous than glycerol ones. EG better penetrates in tissues than glycerol. It less dehydrates tissues than glycerol. It is less expensive."

Because this patient had not been given heparin we were expecting to have problems with clotting during the perfusion, but the problems were minimal. I had Yuri do some experiments with sheep heads that had 1 hour warm ischemia followed by either 6 hours or 24 hours of refrigeration. He was able to perfuse both heads with his vitrification mixture. He cut the brains into 16 pieces and stored them for 3 days in dry ice. Despite seeing a few clots, the pieces all seemed to be saturated with VM and he saw no evidence of ice crystals. If this is any indication, clotting is not as serious a problem as we have been imagining. Nonetheless, I did see a large clot come from our 74th patient and we did have some trouble perfusing the right side of her brain, but that could have been due to atherosclerosis (something we wouldn't expect in a sheep head).

We make no claim and have no expectation of vitrifying every organ in the body. With the prospect of stem cells and organ regeneration so close on the horizon it seems silly to expend a great amount of time and money on attempting to do so. It will probably be at least a decade, maybe two, before anyone is capable of vitrifying every organ in the body. We have no urgency to do this.

Donations to the Research Fund are always welcome, and are tax deductible when payable to the Immortalist Society. This is a fine way to benefit yourself, our organization and the science of cryonics.

I will be attending the 2006 Society for Cryobiology Meeting in Hamburg, Germany at the end of July. Just prior to the meeting, on the weekend of July 22nd and 23rd German cryonicists will be having a meeting in Hamburg and I will be there to address their questions and concerns. Members of the group include Michael Saxer, Klaus Sames, PhD, Gunter Boden, MD and chemist Eugen Leitel. Others are welcome to attend.

Robert Nelson's name will forever be associated with the Cryonics Society of California disaster, but Mr. Nelson has written an excellent summary of his efforts to arrange local standby in this issue of THE IMMORTALIST. Too many cryonicists assume that their cryonics organization can do everything and forget that the first step in the process of cryopreservaton usually begins where they live, among the people in their lives.

This is too often the step that falters badly. I hope cryonicists can appreciate the sincerity of Mr. Nelson's effort to make positive contributions to cryonics (including his own cryopreservation) and see the value in what he has to say.

At 2pm on Sunday, May 21st, 2006 a special Members' meeting was held at the Cryonics Institute Facility to count proxy votes for changing Article X-B of the By-Laws and Article VII of the Articles of Incorporation of the Cryonics Institute. In attendence were Ben Best and Robert Ettinger, who counted proxies.

128 votes were in favor of the change to Article X-B of the By-Laws and 126 votes were in favor of the change to Article VII of the Articles of Incorporation. There are 214 Voting Members of the Cryonics Institute, so a clear majority voted in favor of the changes.

The revised By-Laws are now in place on the Cryonics Institute website:

http://www.cryonics.org/By_Laws.html#_XB_

This year there are two open positions for Cryonics Institute Director, because Alan Sinclair has resigned, and Robert Ettinger is going to resign at the end of his term. (See the CI Board of Directors webpage). Qualifications for being a Director of CI are given in the By-Laws. To become a Director a Member must be a Voting Member of CI. An unwritten requirement is use of e-mail, which is essential in the Board's decision-making. All Director candidates should announce their intentions and should submit a short candidacy statement (100 words or less) for mailing with the proxies before August 11, 2006.

For driving directions, use MapQuest or send e-mail to the CI Facility. or phone 1-586-791-5961. The meetings are open to the general public, but we do request that we be informed ahead of time if you wish to attend (by the above e-mail address, phone number or mailing address). Meetings offer a great opportunity to see the facility, to meet other members, to get a sense of the status of the Cryonics Institute and to see Officers, Directors & Staff.

The Directors of the Immortalist Society (IS) have agreed to change the name of their organization and of their magazine because of concerns that "immoralist" is a public relations liability having too many religious connotations.

However, there is a dispute about what would be a better name. York Porter, IS President, favors the names: Cryonics Life Extension Association (CLEA)for the organization and CRYONICS OUTLOOK for the magazine.

The other Directors favor the name
CryoRenaissance for both the organization and the magazine.

As you can see from the history of IS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortalist_Society
the name was changed from "Cryonics Association" in 1985, and York Porter originally favored restoring this name.
Other suggestions have included:

Second Chance Society (SCS)
CryoRenaissance International (CI or CRI)
Cryonics Renaissance Society (CRS)
Cryopreservation Association (CA)
Cryopreservation Renaissance Society (CRS)
Cryopreservation Life Extension Association (CLEA)
Renaissance Cryonics Association (RCA)
Renaissance Cryopreservation Association (RCA)
Cryonics Research, Education And Promotion (CREAP)
Cryonics Life Extension And Technology (CLEAT)

Couch Potatoes for CryoPreservation of Cryonics Patients (CPCPCP)

National Association for the Advancement of Cryonics Patients (NAACP)

After extensive discussions it appears that there will be no unanimous agreement among the IS Directors about new names for the organization and the magazine. York insists that the name include the word "cryonics" and Royse Brown (Secretary) insists that the name NOT include the word "cryonics", although "cryo" is an acceptable prefix to him.

The decision will have to be by a vote of the members of IS (the Articles of Incorporation require this anyway). There are currently around 15 Full Members of IS. Only Full Members can vote. The vote will take place at the Meeting on Sunday, September 24th at the CI Facility, with proxies being sent out to the Full Members in August. It is not too late to provide other suggested names for the organization and the magazine.

Those wishing to be able to cast a vote in this historic referendum can do so by paying the required $75 to become a Full Member of IS. This can be done with PayPal on-line:
http://www.cryonics.org/info.html

or by phoning CI at (586) 791

Ben Best

PROPOSED NAME CHANGE FOR THE IMMORTALIST SOCIETY

by: York W. Porter

Immortalist Society President

It has come to my attention that some members of the Immortalist Society believe that a change in the Society's name should occur. There are various reasons for this but among the most prominent is the belief by some that the name itself unnecessarily anatagonizes persons of good will in society in general who may otherwise be sympathetic and/or interested in cryonics but who feel that, due to their religious beliefs, the concept of "man-made" immortality is offensive and that the name Immortalist Society prevents many of these people from becoming involved in cryonics or prevents them from at least being more neutral on the subject (and thus less apt to actively oppose our efforts). A second line of thinking is that what we are actually "selling", for lack of a better term, is cryonics itself as a route to immortality and not immortality itself and that the name of the organization should reflect that.

The counterbalancing view to the perspective just mentioned is that the primary attraction to cryonics is the chance of immortality, whether defined as indefinitely extended life or infinite life and that the name should be left alone since it reflects this intriguing and exciting goal. Also prominent in this viewpoint is the obvious fact that Robert Ettinger's book is entitled The Prospect of Immortality and not The Prospect of Indefinitely Extended Life and that there is no better strategy than to meet the issue "head on".

For a brief background, as you may or may not know, the Immortalist Society began as the Cryonics Society of Michigan and then, in an attempt to broaden its appeal and allow for chapters to be set up all across the United States (and elsewhere), the name was changed to the Cryonics Association. After some time the name was later changed to the Immortalist Society to represent the counterbalancing view mentioned above.

While, according to Shakespeare, "a rose by any other name still smells as sweet", in organizations a name can be important with brand name recognition being the most obvious example . (In my neck of the woods, for instance, the brand name "Frigidaire" is still occasionally used synonymously with the word "refrigerator").

Therefore, there has been quite a bit of interest in what one would think of as a pretty bland topic and numerous names have been suggested, along with keeping the present name, with, so far, no one name seeming to "take the prize". Sometime near the end of July, I will be sending out a notice/letter to all the voting members with an attempt made to have the voting members to narrow down the choices to two or three before the annual meeting. (Those submitting names, please note that, due to the number suggested, it may be necessary for the Board of Directors of IS to first narrow down the numerous submissions so far presented to five or six, though that has yet to be determined). The voting members will then be presented with the top two or three choices for a final determination.

Remember that the voting members consist of the full members of the Immortalist Society and any associate member who has an interest in this topic should immediately upgrade their membership to full by paying the difference between an associate and full membership between now and when the selection process begins. This is your chance to have a direct say in whether we will continue with the name we have held for many years or whether we will head into the first part of the twenty-first century by an entirely new name to go by.

After a long process of review, the U.S. Government has granted the Cryonics Society 501c3 non-profit status. The Cryonics Society -- http://www.CryonicsSociety.org -- is an organization working to educate the public about the many potential benefits of cryonics, to both individuals and to our society as a whole.

The Society works to correct inaccurate and sensationalistic presentations of cryonics in the media, and to foster donations and support which could advance scientific research in the cryonics field.

To learn more about the Cryonics Society, please enjoy a free look at our eNewsletter now available at:

http://www.cryonicssociety.org/enews/cs_enewsletter1_may06.html

New subscribers are welcome. And our new nonprofit status means that any contributions people may give to the Society to help its efforts are now tax-deductible.

We want to advance science and possibly help save human lives. If you

would like to help too, or just to learn more about cryonics, then please visit the Cryonics Society online at

http://www.CryonicsSociety.org and consider giving your support.

David Pascal, Secretary

The Cryonics Society

http://www.CryonicsSociety.org

The Cryonics Society is a separate organization, and has no connection to the Cryonics Institute or The Immortalist Society.

RUSSIAN CRYONICS NEWS

Here is brief information about our recent successes with cryonics in Russia. I am the Director General there. Igor Aryukhov is chief scientist.Feel free to forward this to others (including journalists). A quick summary:

1) We have had brains of two patients stored in dry ice since 2003 and 2005.

2) KrioRus has been registered as the first Russian cryonics company (www.kriorus.ru).3) In April the brains of the two patients were put into liquid nitrogen in a 250 L Dewar near Moscow.

4) These events are being covered in Russian media.

5) The price of neurosuspension is 9000 USD (travel outside Moscow and unusual expenses are extra), incl. permanent storage.

6) As we get more patients, the price is expected to go way down.

7) We are willing and able to some extent to work with clients in European Union and CIS (no unrealistic promises, just that we are willing to try).

8) We can also arrange cryosuspension and transportation to the USA (at normal CI/Alcor prices plus our expenses).

9) We are happy to share our experience.

We can easily arrange filming/photo shoots at our premises (cryostorage facility in the Moscow Region). We can easily arrange an interview with Daniil Fedorenko (grandson of our first patient, Lidia Fedorenko) and his mother. I can be contacted directly at +7 905 768-04-57 or kriorus@mail.ru.

Other phones +7 495 489-52-60, + 7 495 585-36-80

Yours, Danila Medvedev

KrioRus - Cryonics in Russia. http://www.kriorus.ru

FLORIDA HOSPICE CARE IN JEOPARDY?

"Florida’s hospice care system is considered a model for providing health care to the terminally ill that other states should follow. But a bill passed by state lawmakers could change that, by introducing the profit motive into hospice services.

The new law removes a requirement that hospices be not-for-profit corporations." That’s the beginning of a recent FLORIDA TODAY editorial. It went on to claim that "big out of state hospice corporations" want to cash in on the state’s huge elderly population, by entering the market, and hired powerful lobbyists who are pushing for Governor Bush to sign it.

The editorial went on to say that it’s likely that next year the lobbyists could push state lawmakers to do away with the "Certificate of Need" requirement, a regulatory step to show a community will benefit from more hospice providers.

BRITISH COLUMBIA UPDATE

The letter from Janet Ricciutti -- who is the Executive Director of the British Columbia Funeral Service Association -- has provoked bgwowk to post comments on another forum which I have his permission to reproduce. People outside British Columbia can easily be seen only as lobbyists, whereas people living in British Columbia are seen by officials as constituents and consumers. BC's anti-cryonics law was originally designed as consumer protection -- to protect consumers from predatory marketing. Those lobbying for change from outside of the Province can be seen as agents of marketing.

On the other hand, consumers from within British Columbia protesting the lack of accessibility to cryonics services are likely to get a much more favorable response, insofar as these are the people the government is supposed to be protecting.

I have been encouraging everyone to write to BC officials, particularly those in BC. But the advice of bgwowk seems to be that the writing should come entirely from people in British Columbia and that lobbying from those outside of BC is counterproductive. I can empathize with this, but I don't seem to have had much effect on getting many people from anywhere to write. If cryonicists living in BC would get in the habit of periodically writing BC officials to protest limitations on access to cryonics services, it would be of great benefit to all BC cryonicists as well as to cryonicists everywhere insofar as British Columbia is setting a terrible example which others may be tempted to emulate when and if the next Ted Williams-type media circus happens.

Ben Best

bgwowk wrote:

Ben, I think you are missing the key revelation of her letter. I believe it is this:

"I have responded to these telephone calls for the past 15 years and I have never received one telephone call from either a consumer wishing to obtain these services from a funeral director or a funeral director requesting information about purchasing the appropriate supplies or equipment to provide such a service. The only enquiries and calls I have received are from the very active lobbyists representing both the US Cryonics institutes and one or two of their lobbying members."


She feels that she is being pressured by outside commercial interests and "their lobbyists" rather than by BC residents actually wanting cryonics service. This is not unlike what we recently saw in the JREF cryonics debate where there are "consumers to be protected," and any consumer who has decided that they want cryonics is no longer a consumer, but part of the "cryonics lobby" that consumers need to be protected from.

I think it is vital that people writing BC officials make clear that they are BC residents, and that this law interferes with their ability to obtain even simple cryonics services from funeral directors such as packing in ice and shipping. The apparent prohibition of performance of specific preparative services is practically a restriction on freedom of religion for those BC residents who believe in this manner of disposition.

"GUY" WANTS TO MEET SOME MEMBERS!

Just a note to say hello to all of you. I've been traveling in Michigan lately, and earlier and recently had the opportunity to visit the Cryonics Institute, get an excellent tour from Andy, meet Ben, sign a membership application and write a check, and provide DNA tissue samples. Andy invited me to join this group.

I have current cryopreservation arrangements with Alcor and will continue them for at least a while, but am considering a change. I looked over past messages on this group and I like you guys already! I retired from a career in the US Postal Service about a year and a half ago, after which I sold my place in Pennsylvania, got my youngest son relocated and into college, bought a 35' motorhome, got rid of unnecessary stuff, and moved into it.

For the past year I have been roaming around the USA seeing all the places I have always wanted to, and making extended visits at parents' and children/grandchildren's homes in 3 widely-separated states. Life is good. I've been called everything from homeless bum to residentially-challenged, and that suits me fine. I can be found at any given moment at:
http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=2518
Over the next few months I expect to live in MI, WI, MN, ND, MT, ID, UT, NV, CA, AZ, NM, TX, AR, MO, TN, KY. In about that order. I saw some posts about people wanting to meet up ... anybody in any of those states who wants me to try to find them as I'm passing thru, feel free to email me.

Yeh, I'll probably settle down sometime again like a good citizen, someplace, might even start a new career for the 2nd half of my present life. Then again, There is much out there I have yet to see.

Guy Gipson

CRYONICS INSTITUTE’S SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD

Peter Gouras, MD, PhD h.c.
Professor of Ophthalmology
Columbia University

Raphael (Rafi) Haftka PhD, Distinguished Professor
http://www.mae.ufl.edu/haftka/
University of Florida
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Ronald G. Havelock, Ph.D., OD

Dr. Henry Hirsch, Professor Emeritus, University of Kentuky, College of Medicine

Yuri Pichugin, Ph.D.
Cryobiological Research
Cryonics Institute

Prof. Klaus Sames, MD
Institut für Anatomie II
Hamburg, Germany

All Members of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Cryonics Institute are also Members of the Cryonics Institute.

If your address or the state of your health has changed or if you may be in a life threatening situation, OR if insurance policy coverage or other funding of your cryonics suspension contract has changed, please contact and update CI as soon as possible. If you are NOT a CI member, and you or a loved one is in a life threatening situation and you are considering last minute cryonics suspension services,

please first visit our new Emergency Pages www.cryonics.org

Disclaimer: The publishers and editors of this publication do not knowingly print any misinformation, but do not necessarily vouch for the quality or safety of any products or services mentioned herein

The closing dates for submissions for 2OO6 are Jan.l, March 1, May 1, July I, Sept l, and Nov l.