Here is a discussion about suspension protocols from the recent cryonics meeting in New York. Thanks to Alvin for sharing.
Dear Nancy, Hayden, Alvin and Alcor colleagues,
Last Thursday we were able to hold the second meeting of the New York City Alcor member group at the Empire State Building. In our first meeting, we all expressed curiosity and lack of specific knowledge about Alcor's current medical response protocols, technology, and procedures, so prior to our second meeting I was able to arrange a phone call with Josh Lado, Alcor's medical response director, and asked him if we could call him during our meeting and essentially ask him any question we may have (read more about Josh here: http://www.alcor.org...nse-director/).
So, during our second meeting, we had the opportunity to speak with him for about 30 minutes on the phone. With the help of our colleague Nancy Fisher, we've jotted the notes below for you all to have an idea of what we discussed during the phone call:
Notes and reflections from last Thursday's meeting
About a new rapid-response technological tool Alcor is developing
Josh's department at Alcor is developing and about to launch (by February I believe he said) a state-of-the-art technological tool, something like an Apple Watch, that will alert Alcor of both a sudden death and of health deterioration, which would greatly increase the chances of rapid medical response and cryoperfusion by Alcor.About ideal response time for cryoperfusion
If one of us dies suddenly and the Alcor or Suspended Animation (a subcontractor of Alcor in certain states) crew cannot physically get to you within 2 hours after death, cryoperfusion cannot be done and, necessarily, a "straight freeze" procedure will be performed on you. According to today's technological beliefs, this may lessen the chance of brain cells/tissue rehabilitation in the future. So, if one does not meet the short two-hour time window, following the resuscitation/injection instructions on the Alcor Emergency ID Tags (necklace or bracelet) on its own has little potential to help at all. This is because blood starts clotting when oxygen levels drop and that cannot be prevented via the instructions on the ID tags. This is true partly because much more heparin would be needed for a more effective solution (still not nearly as effective as simply being cryoperfused within two hours) and because heparin is a controlled substance (although the ID tags do reference 50,000 units of heparin).
About what to do in case of sudden/unexpected death
Josh said that as soon as we learn of the death of an Alcor member (and this is something you want to tell people living with you and any emergency contact), we should all immediately make two calls: 1) call 911 to tell them about the deceased being an Alcor patient because the police will get necessarily involved to some extent in unexpected deaths (unless you're sick in the hospital, in which case the police may not need to intervene), and 2) call Telemedicine (which is the emergency number on the Alcor ID tags and card). As soon as Alcor learns about your death, either Alcor's team or Suspended Animation's (depending on time, State you're in, etc.) will mobilize directly by phone and in person to get all urgent post-death medical procedures done as well as to have all the paperwork with the hospital ready towards your repatriation to Scottsdale, Arizona, and in order to treat your body as quick as possible (you) and bring you back to Scottsdale.
About the best-case scenario death
As a result, the ideal scenario for the death of an Alcor member is a long anticipated death as a product of illness. In cases when an Alcor member may think that his/her time may come soon, it may be advisable to even move to Arizona to have some sort of hospice care in order to be in closer touch with Alcor's medical response team, who, based on their experience with dozens of terminally-ill patients and their nurses, may likely have an idea on when exactly your death may happen. If you believe your passing may come soon, whether you're in Arizona or anywhere else in the world, it would be key for you to contact Josh at Alcor so that they, after discussion with Alcor President Max More and Alcor's medical board, send a medical response team to literally stand by your bedside for as many days as your clinical/legal passing may take in order to cryoperfuse you effectively. (On I side note, I just saw this Max More interview from a year ago where he answers some of these same questions: )
Potential future questions we will ask Josh
Can we ask Alcor to either rethink the recommended protocols upon death (as they are delineated on the Alcor card) and/or come up with a description of what would work if the Suspended Animation team will arrive more than 2 hours out? Is it possible for us to enlist our own doctors to understand and agree to perform such a to-be-created protocol in order to keep us able to be perfused until the team comes? Would hospitals go along with this? It now appears that unless someone is able to tell Alcor in advance that you will die soon, or you die in the vicinity of Scottsdale, AZ, you are looking at a straight freeze. This is unfortunate. Another problem is the desire by many states to do an autopsy, regardless, so it sounds like it is important to carry that Venturist card saying you have a religious objection to autopsy. Can Alcor recommend a specific protocol for this?
Edited by Mind, 13 December 2016 - 10:07 PM.
