The Cryonics Institute has had a new President since
September 2003 -- me. A great many changes have occurred
at CI in the last two years and changes of this nature
are expected to accelerate. Therefore, to describe CI
in terms of what it has been historically is not a very
good guide to the present and (especially) to the future.
Although CI is small, it is growing very rapidly.
Those who judge quality entirely on the basis of
price and who want professional Standby & Transport should
add the price for CI storage and perfusion ($28,000 or
$35,000) to the Suspended Animation price to get totals
ranging from about $50,000 to about $130,000 depending
upon the level of coverage. (Detailed pricing information
can be found at
http://www.cryonics....A_details.html) The claim that CI does no temperature, pressure or
cryoprotectant concentration monitoring with our new
vitrification protocol is false, as should be evident
from the description of the application of this
protocol to a dog:
http://www.cryonics....s/Dog_Thor.htmlWe have not had the opportunity to apply this protocol
to a human yet, but will do so at the first opportunity.
Our technical capabilities in this area are increasing
very rapidly, as should be evident in future published
reports.
I am commited to technical progress at CI, but I am
also committed to keeping costs low. I don't know where
Brian got the figure of an anticipated 7% return -- in
my years at CI I have never heard this number. A more
interesting question might be 1% or 7% of *what*? CI
does not have a large paid staff and we do not have a
lot of expensive equipment. Our marginal costs are
currently less than $100 per year (formerly they were
much larger). If our current rapid growth continues my
hope is that economies of scale may someday allow us
to cut prices to make cryonics accessible to even
more people.
Another commitment I have had as CI President is
to oppose the hate-filled competitive hostility I have
seen between Alcor and CI. I am above all a cryonicist,
not a partisan. I have written this reply not to attack
Alcor, but to set the facts straight about the Cryonics
Institute. I regret the comparisons page on the CI
website, but the fact that I am not politically strong
enough to have it removed does not mean I am not
politically strong enough to advance CI technically.
My least favorite FAQ is to make comparisons between
Alcor and CI. It was extremely difficult for me to
write this reply. It has not been my intention to be
attacking and it is my intention to not reply further
to this thread even if unfair accusations are made.
CI's future accomplishments will speak for themselves.
-- Ben Best, President, Cryonics Institute