Legal Protection for Cryonics Patients How brain cryopreservation

Legal Protection for Cryonics Patients How brain cryopreservation research can contribute Chana de Wolf, M. S. Advanced Neural Biosciences

Strategies for Legal Protection of Cryonics Patients Persuade the medical establishment that cryonics patients deserve legal protection because we believe so. OR Present evidence that cryonics patients are not dead according to contemporary criteria of death.

Legal Criteria for Death Cardio-respiratory death: irreversible cessation of heart beat and breathing. Brain death: irreversible cessation of electrical activity in the brain.

Brain Death § Accidental brain death: severe ischemic insults or head trauma. § Brain death as choice: contemporary medicine gives up…. . BUT WE DON’T!

How to Prevent Brain Death? • Cryopreserve terminal patients and maintain them at cryogenic temperatures. • Can this be done?

Brain Cryopreservation Research • First objective: good preservation of brain ultrastructure. • Second objective: preserve viability of brain slices. • Third objective: demonstrate maintenance of electrical activity in brain slices. • Fourth objective: demonstrate maintenance of electrical activity in the whole brain.

Ultrastructural Brain Preservation

Viability in Brain Slices • April 2006: Published survival of vitrified brain slices (Pichugin, Fahy, et al). – 100% viability of vitrified hippocampal slices as measured by K+/Na+ ratios • Slices also looked great when observed by light and electron microscopy

Electrical Activity in Brain Slices • 2008: Recovery of electrical activity of vitrified brain slices when: – Immediately rewarmed after vitrification – Stored at -135 C for 1 -7 days – Vitrified using M 22, VEG, or VM 3 • Measured field EPSPs in response to stimulation were similar to control tissue – % responding and amplitude of response • Persistence of the LTP “Memory Response” after vitrification and rewarming

Electrical Activity in Whole Brain • No public announcements to date. • Objective: peer reviewed publication of maintenance of electrical activity after vitrification and rewarming.

Cryonics Patients are NOT Dead n n Public recognition of successful brain vitrification can be used to seek legal protection for cryonics patients. We are not just saying these patients are not dead, mainstream criteria do.

How to Accomplish This? n n Support brain cryopreservation research Aggressive PR efforts to communicate brain preservation research objectives and achievements. Seek legal protection for cryonics patients Demand cryonics as an elective inhospital procedure.

Other Benefits of Brain Cryopreservation Research n Increased recognition of the technical feasibility of cryonics with scientists and the general public. n Improved cryopreservation procedures for existing members of cryonics organizations.