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> CI Orkut Community Created November 20, 2008
Cryonics Institute Orkut Community has
now been created. Unlike the Cryonics Institute Yahoo Group —
and like the Cryonics Institute Facebook Group — the Orkut
Community is currently open to anyone, not just CI Members. Like
Facebook, Orkut is a social networking group — although
created by Google.
> CI's 91st Patient November 11, 2008
The Cryonics Institute's 91st patient is Jack Zinn,
a 65-year-old California lawyer with a long history of cryonics membership.
Jack has had cryonics arrangements with the American Cryonics Society
(of which he was once President), Trans Time, Alcor and most recently CI.
He even tried to start his own cryonics organization (the International Cryonics
Foundation). He involved himself in a number of cryonics-related legal cases,
such as the fight to establish the legal right to cryonics in California.
Jack may be most recently remembered for the "High Rollers" conferences
that he organized in Laughlin, Nevada in the late 1990s.
He was placed in liquid nitrogen on November 10th, 2008 and the case report is
now on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 91st Patient
> CI Facebook Group Created October 29, 2008
Cryonics Institute Facebook Group has
now been created. Unlike the Cryonics Institute Yahoo Group,
the Cryonics Institute Facebook Group is currently open to
anyone, not just CI Members. The Facebook Group was created
at the urging of a CI Member, but it remains to be seen
how it will be used.
> John de Rivaz resigns as CI Director September 24, 2008
John de Rivaz has resigned as Director of the Cryonics Institute. Joseph
Kowalsky, the incumbent Director who failed to be re-elected in the 2008
Director Elections was appointed to serve in the place of John de Rivaz
until the next Director elections in 2009. John de Rivaz was the
Vice-President of the Cryonics Institute. Alan Mole has been elected
by the CI Directors to be the new CI Vice-President.
Details concerning all current CI Directors and Officers can be
found on the Cryonics Institute website:
Directors of the Cryonics Institute
Officers of the Cryonics Institute
> New Members of the SAB September 24, 2008
Two new Members have been added to the Cryonics Institute
Scientific Advisory Board (SAB): Robert Duncan Enzmann, PhD, MD, ErHb and
Gunter Boden, MD. As with all of the other SAB Members, both are also
CI Members.
The current SAB can be found on the Cryonics Institute website:
Scientific
Advisory Board (SAB) of the Cryonics Institute.
> 2008 CI Voting Results September 21, 2008
For the 2008 Cryonics Institute Director's elections,
ballots were sent to 280 Voting Members, each of whom had
up to 4 votes to cast for the 5 Director Candidates.
Results of the voting was as follows:
Andy Zawacki 195
Thus, the top four candidates were elected and Joe Kowalsky failed
to be re-elected.
For the proposed By-Law changes, 110 votes were cast, with the
following result:
All 59
59 votes was not sufficient to pass the By-Law changes.
A committee composed of York Porter and David Ettinger
will attempt to draft new By-Law changes.
> CI Makes Another Technical Disclosure September 21, 2008
In February 2007 the Cryonics Institute disclosed the formula
of its vitrification solution CI-VM-1 developed by CI staff cryobiologist
Dr. Yuri Pichugin. Now in September 2008 CI (and the Immortalist
Society) is disclosing the Blood-Brain Barrier modifier which
Dr. Pichugin had spent much of 2007 perfecting and validating.
Details can be found on the Cryonics Institute website:
Blood-Brain
Barrier Modifier Preliminary Patent Application Disclosure .
> Annual Meetings Sept 21st September 7, 2008
As was announced in the message below (February 1, 2008), the Annual General
Meetings of the Cryonics Institute and the Immortalist Society will be at the
CI Facility in Michigan on Sunday, September 21st -- two weeks from the date of this posting.
For more details, see the message below or the announcement on the CI website:
CI 2008 Annual General Meeting
> CI's 90th Patient June 21, 2008
The Cryonics Institute's 90th patient was a middle-aged man who deanimated
in Britain and was stored in dry ice for more than a month before being shipped
to CI. He was placed in liquid nitrogen on June 21st, 2008 and the case report is
now on the website:
The Cryonics Institute's 90th Patient
> CI's 88th and 89th Patients June 7, 2008
Detailed case reports for the Cryonics Institute's 88th and 89th patients
are now available on the CI website. The 88th patient was placed in liquid
nitrogen last Monday, June 2nd, whereas the 89th patient was placed in liquid
nitrogen today, June 7th, 2008:
The Cryonics Institute's 88th Patient
The Cryonics Institute's 89th Patient
> Scientific cryonics paper published May 8, 2008
The April 2008 issue of REJUVENATION RESEARCH (Volume 11, Number 2) contains
an explanation and justification of cryonics written for scientists by CI President Ben Best entitled
Scientific Justification for Cryonics Procedures.
The piece is well-referenced with citations to peer-reviewed journal articles. Hopefully, this
and other articles like it (of which there are very few) can increase understanding
and credibility among scientists and physicians concerning the scientific basis of cryonics.
> Membership Names Simplified May 1, 2008
CI is simplifying terminology by describing the two
classes of Membership as Lifetime and Yearly, rather than
Option One and Option Two, respectively. Yearly Memberships
can still be paid in quarterly installments. There are no
changes to features of these two classes of Members, there
is only the name change. Details on CI Memberships can be
found on the Cryonics Institute
Membership page.
> Cryonics Rescue Training March 19, 2008
On Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18, 2008 there will be a
Cryonics Rescue Training course at the Cryonics Institute. The
purpose of the course is to prepare the participants to reduce
injury and facilitate transport of cryonics patients in emergency
and non-emergency situations.
There is no cost for the course, but a $100 deposit is
required which is refunded to all except those who do not
attend. Attendence will be limited to 15 participants.
Attendance preference will be given to CI Members who have contracts
and funding in place for human cryopreservation.
A detailed description of the training
is available on the CI website:
> CI's 87th Patient March 7, 2008
CI's 87th patient had been the President of the Cryonics Association of
Australia.
A detailed case report for the Cryonics Institute's 87th patient
is available on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 87th Patient
> CI's 86th Patient February 12, 2008
CI's 86th patient is a 27-year-old European University student of nanonechnology
who was stricken with leukemia 8 months before his deanimation. He joined CI
in late January, and completed his sign-up and funding with the help of his
supportive brother. His father and a female cousin flew from Europe to
see the Cryonics Institute before the patient was placed into a cryostat.
A detailed case report for the Cryonics Institute's 86th patient
is available on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 86th Patient
> AGM is Sunday, September 21, 2008 February 1, 2008
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Cryonics Institute
will be held Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 2pm at the main facility,
24355 Sorrentino Court, Clinton Township, Michigan 48035. The Annual
General Meeting of The Immortalist Society will immediately follow the
AGM of CI on the same Sunday. Meetings generally last most of the afternoon.
This year there are four Cryonics Institute Director up for re-election. (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 8, 2008. But it is much better to announce candidacy
well before July 1st, 2008 to be included as a candidate in the July-August
issue of LONG LIFE magazine.
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.
For more information, see:
CI 2008 Annual General Meeting
> Dr. Pichugin resigns,
December 14, 2007
Dr. Yuri Pichugin resigned
from his position as Director of Research at the Cryonics Institute.
Effective December, 2007 Dr. Pichugin will cease
to be a Cryonics Institute employee.
Dr. Pichugin is planning to go to Russia and begin a research program
there. In Russia he will have access to more facilities
at lower costs. His intention is to do research for CI
and other interested organizations on a contract basis.
Dr. Pichugin had already made known his plans to
work in either Ukraine or Russia in 2008. He spent
much of October and November, 2007 in those countries and
decided upon Russia. His intention was to remain
a CI employee while working abroad, but not long after
returning to Michigan he decided to resign and work as
an independent researcher/contractor.
As an act of goodwill and information sharing, Alcor's
rat researcher Chana de Wolf visited CI to acquire some
of Dr. Pichugin's skills before Dr. Pichugin left North
America. In the past week Dr. Pichugin demonstrated his
basic experimental methods and taught Chana the fine art
of extracting a hippocampus from a rat brain.
Photo of the de Wolfs with Dr. Yuri Pichugin
Chana's husband Aschwin de Wolf accompanied Chana on
this trip to Michigan. Aschwin has considerable
knowledge of cryonics emergency response procedures,
much of which he gained as an employee at Suspended
Animation, Inc. After training with Dr. Pichugin,
Aschwin and Chana spent two days discussing
CI procedures and helping to plan a cryonics standby/emergency
response training for CI Members which is expected to
be held in May 2008. Further announcements about this
training will be forthcoming.
> CI's 85th Patient October 26, 2007
In October, 2007 the Cryonics Institute received
its 85th patient, now in liquid nitrogen at the
CI facility. At the request of the family, all
details are being withheld.
> Paris Hilton news story October 19, 2007
The Cryonics Institute (CI) is aware of a news story that Paris Hilton has
"bought shares" in CI. CI is a non-profit corporation and does
not issue shares. People cannot buy shares in CI and CI has no shareholders.
CI is "owned" (controlled) entirely by its voting Members, and
elected Directors and Officers. Voting Members are adult CI Members who
have contracts and funding in place for their own cryopreservation. Income
and assets are to be used only for maintaining the organization and for
the benefit of its patients. No individual can have personal
ownership of CI assets.
For further detail on how CI is structured see the
By-Laws of the Cryonics Institute
.
Concerning the reported membership of Paris Hilton in CI
or her use of CI services, as a policy CI does not affirm or
deny such claims. CI recommends that anyone
considering copying this story circulating in the celebrity press
contact Miss Hilton or her press officer first and check the facts.
> CI's 84th Patient September 25, 2007
The 84th patient of the Cryonics Institute is Viola Dufault,
the grandmother of CI Member Kevin Boyle. Kevin is well known
among CI Members for the cryopreservation of his dog Thor in
February 2005. When Viola was placed in liquid nitrogen on
Saturday, September 22 (the day before the Cryonics Institute
Annual General Meeting) the event was witnessed by cryonics
pioneer Curtis Henderson and LONG LIFE Editor John Bull,
among others. Kevin was unable to attend because of
very recent surgery.
A detailed case report for the Cryonics Institute's 84th patient
is available on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 84th Patient
> Voting Results September 23, 2007
Of 238 proxies mailed out, just over 80 votes
were returned for either Directors or for the proposed
removal of Section 5.01 of the By-Laws (some
voted for one and not the other), constituting
about a third of the Voting Members. Only
one-fifth of Voting Members are required to
give a quorum of Voting Members.
There were five candidatesrunning for four
positions on the Board of Directors. The
election results were as follows:
Alan Mole 80
Marta Sandberg has been newly elected
to the Board and Jim Fitzgerald is no longer
a Board Member. I hope that Jim will not get
too discouraged and that he will consider
running for the Board again in the future.
Proxy votes for the removal of
By-Law 5.01
were received with 74 favoring removal and
9 opposed to removal. York Porter continued his
lobbying against the removal right into the
meeting and he managed to convince everyone
that changing the By-Law is not a good idea.
Proxies can only be used in a vote if a
vote is called. There was no motion to call
for a vote on the removal of Section 5.01 at
the AGM, much less someone seconding the
motion. Because no one made a motion to vote
on the By-Law repeal, the question was tabled.
> CI's 83rd Patient August 11, 2007
CI's 83rd Patient was an 91-year old woman who was straight-frozen by her
son. The man had been unable to obtain the funding immediately and had to
keep his mother on dry ice for a few weeks. The woman had a long history of
many illnesses, which had become especially severe in the final several
months.
A detailed case report for the Cryonics Institute's 83rd patient
is available on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 83rd Patient
> CI's 82nd Patient June 15, 2007
CI's 82nd Patient was an 85-year old woman who had been a CI Member for
several years, along with her husband. She had been a stroke victim and
her husband was caring for her (with the help of nurses) when she died
suddenly after admission to hospital emergency. An attempt was made to
perfuse this Member's body with glycerol (with some success) following
vitrification perfusion of the head.
A detailed case report for the Cryonics Institute's 82nd patient
is available on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 82nd Patient
> Successful Open House June 25, 2007
Between 40-50 people attended the June 24 Open
House at the Cryonics Institute, resulting in four
immediate new Members and other less tangible
benefits. This is hopefully another step toward
building of a local community of cryonicists,
perhaps eventually including hospice care and mutual
aid volunteer standby. The benefits of deanimating
close to CI rather than at a distance are very
great in terms of reducing ischemic damage.
Those who missed the Open House or those who
attended and noted that Ben Best was the only Director
present should strongly consider coming to the
Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, September 23.
Many Directors and Advisors as well as special
guests attend the AGM. The AGM is an excellent
opportunity to not only see the current state of
the CI facility, but to see the people running
the organization as well as the issues we are
struggling with. An informal dinner on the Saturday
evening before the meeting provides an
additional chance for socializing.
For more details on the AGM see:
CI 2007 Annual General Meeting
> CI's 81st Patient
June 15, 2007
A detailed case report for the Cryonics Institute's 81st patient
is now available on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 81st Patient
CI's 81st Patient was an 77-year-old man with a
long history of interest and involvement in cryonics.
Suspended Animation, Inc.
waited by the bedside, providing rapid cooldown, cardiopulmonary support and
blood washout when the patient deanimated. A case report will also be available
from Suspended Animation soon which describes their participation in this case.
> CI's 80th Patient
May 1, 2007
The Cryonics Institute has placed its 80th patient into liquid nitrogen.
A case report for the 80th patient will be available on the website soon.
> Cryonics Institute Open House
April 15, 2007
There will be an Open House at the Cryonics Institute on Sunday, June 24, 2007 from
3pm to 7pm. The Open House will include tours, demonstrations, a lecture and a free
buffet dinner. The lecture, entitled "Cryonics and Rejuvenation" will be given
by Cryonics Institute President Ben Best and is intended to introduce the goals and
methods of cryonics as well as the state of cryonics organizations and technology in
the world today.
Details: Open House Description
> CI Director Candidates
April 3, 2007
So far only the four incumbant CI Directors have put their names forward for
the four CI Board of Directors positions
up for re-election in 2007. Their names and biographies are on the CI Director Candidates Webpage.
CI Members over age 18 who have funding and contracts in place for cryopreservation
at the Cryonics Institute are eligible to run as Board of Directors. Those wishing
to be candidates should submit their candidacy intention (including biographical information
and campaign platform) to the Cryonics Institute by Friday, August 10, 2007. The
sooner candidacy is announced the better the chances of being elected.
> CI's 79th Patient
March 30, 2007
A detailed case report for the Cryonics Institute's 79th patient
is now available on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 79th Patient
CI's 79th Patient was an 88-year-old man who had
been a CI Member for many years. He was driven to Michigan
from a nearby state and perfusion began about 12 hours after
the time of his deanimation.
> CI's 78th Patient
March 18, 2007
A detailed case report for the Cryonics Institute's 78th patient
is now available on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 78th Patient
CI's 78th Patient was an 81-year-old German woman, the
second German to have been cryopreserved by CI. Shipment from Germany
could not be done as quickly as would be
desired due to the delays at the consulate.
The patient was packed in ice without blood washout
and shipped to the Michigan. Perfusion began
about 66 hours after the time of her deanimation.
Despite the fact that heparin had not been circulated,
problems with clotting were apparently
minimal -- we saw more signs of clotting in our
77the patient. The vitrification perfusion
appears to have gone well for this patient, despite
the expectations of clotting.
> Vitrification Formula Disclosure
February 23, 2007
On the basis of legal counsel the Cryonics Institute
has decided to abandon efforts to obtain a patent for the
vitrification
mixture being used by CI to cryopreserve
patients and pets. The formula is being disclosed to
preclude others from preventing CI from using it. Full
disclosure can now be found on the following page of
the CI website:
CI-VM-1 Cryoprotectant Solution
> CI's 77th Patient
February 14, 2007
A detailed case report for the Cryonics Institute's 77th patient
is now available on the CI website:
The Cryonics Institute's 77th Patient
CI's 77th patient was a 96-year-old man who has been a
CI Member since 1999. He had been encouraged to become a CI Member by two
of this three sons, both of whom are also CI Members. He deanimated within a week
after having hip surgery.
> Potluck Dinner Sunday, March 25
February 11, 2007
There will be a Potluck Dinner at the CI Facility (24355 Sorrentino Court, Clinton Township,
Michigan 48035), Sunday, March 25, 2007 at 6pm. That Sunday coincides with the date of the
next Directors/Advisors meeting at the CI Facility, possibly providing and opportunity for some
Members a chance to meet Advisors/Directors and vice-versa.
There will be a 7pm lecture by Ben Best:
Can Sex Hormones Safely Rejuvenate Older Adults?
The word "rejuvenate" sounds like snake oil, and the answer
is probably "No" in the sense of extending maximum lifespan,
but it is clear that sex hormone replacement can relieve symptoms of
menopause, if you want to call menopause "aging". The benefits
of testosterone in men are similar to the benefits of progesterone and
estrogen in women, with similar risks.
Anyone interested in more details on the above topic is very much
encouraged to come and bring guests. Send e-mail to
the CI Facility or phone
1-586-791-5961 if you have questions about the meeting or are planning to come.
> AGM is Sunday, September 23, 2007
January 29, 2007
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Cryonics Institute
will be held Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 2pm at the main facility,
24355 Sorrentino Court, Clinton Township, Michigan 48035. The Annual
General Meeting of The Immortalist Society will immediately follow the
AGM of CI on the same Sunday. Meetings generally last most of the afternoon.
This year there are four Cryonics Institute Director up for re-election. (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 10, 2007.
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.
For more information, see:
CI 2007 Annual General Meeting
> CI's 76th Patient December 30, 2006
CI's 76th patient was an Option Two CI Member who had an insurance
policy in place to pay for his cryopreservation. Unfortunately because
he died unexpectedly and his cause of death was unknown he was autopsied.
CI Members concerned about preventing autopsy are advised to read
Avoiding Autopsy for Cryonics.
> CI's 75th Patient October 18, 2006
CI's 75th patient was yet another mother cryopreserved by a son, although in
this case with the approval of a living father. Her membership and arrangements
were made on the day of her deanimation, which was on a Saturday, but there
were additional delays simply due to the rules of Chicago hospitals.
> Further Simplification of SA-CI Fees September 27, 2006
Suspended Animation, Inc. has decided to further simplify its pricing
structure by eliminating the annual $100 dues. SA-Affiliated CI Members who have
already paid their annual dues will get a refund for the full amount.
> Immortalist Society AGM Results September 24, 2006
It was agreed that magazine of the Immortalist
Society will be given the name LONGEVITY. Whether
the name of the Immortalist Society will be changed -- and
what it will be changed to if it is changed -- remains
unresolved.
> Results of the AGM of CI Members September 24, 2006
Of the 218 Director Election ballots mailed to Voting
CI Members 91 were returned, including one spoiled ballot.
Not everyone used all 4 of the votes they were given.
Results of the voting were as follows:
So the Directors elected until 2009 are Connie
Ettinger, Jordan Sparks, Jack Nixon and Pat Heller.
All 12 voting CI Members at the Meeting except one
supported changing Article III-B Section 3.01(B) of
the By-Laws to include the words "be age 18 or over and"
as follows:
III-B. Section 3.01(B): VOTING MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
All Cryonics Institute members permitted to (a) vote on
the matters referred to in these By-Laws or (b) serve as
a Director must be voting members of the Cryonics Institute.
To qualify as a Voting Member of the Cryonics Institute a CI
Member must be age 18 or over and either be an Option One
Member or have been an Option Two Member for at least three years.
Additionally, only CI Members with an executed Cryonic Suspension
Agreement and having full funding for the Cryonic Suspension
Agreement may be Voting Members.
> Simplification of Fees September 15, 2006
Suspended Animation, Inc. has decided to simplify its pricing structure by offering
the same prices regardless of geographical location within continental North America.
Previously a discount was offered for those who live in South Florida. This price
change currently affects only one Cryonics Institute Member living in South Florida,
and he will be allowed to continue his contract at the existing price. For
Membership and product pricing, see Membership.
> Featured Attendance at the AGM August 24, 2006
The 2006 Annual General Meeting of the Cryonics Institute
is being attended by prominent members of two
other Cryonics Organizations: Suspended Animation General
Manager Charles Platt and American Cryonics Society Chief
Operating Officer Jim Yount. Charles Platt will be giving
a presentation about Suspended Animation capabilities.
The CI AGM will be held Sunday, September 24, 2006 at 2pm at the
CI Main Facility in Clinton Township, Michigan, about 20 miles
northeast of the city of Detroit. The CI AGM is open to the public
and members of other cryonics organizations are welcome to attend.
However, we request that we be informed in advance by those who plan
to attend to assist in our preparations for the meeting.
For more information, see:
> CI's 74th Patient May 16, 2006
The Cryonics Institute's 74th patient is a 79-year-old
woman who was a victim of breast cancer -- who was
cryopreserved by her son. She deanimated (was pronounced dead)
on Sunday, May 14th (Mother's Day). Of the most recent seven
patients, five are mothers cryopreserved by their sons.
This case typifies the popular conception of cryonics as
something that is not arranged until time of death. Although
the family had agreed upon cryonics in February, formal
arrangements with the Cryonics Institute were initiated only
a few days before deanimation. The deanimation
occurred sooner than had been expected. Preparations were therefore
not as good as they could have been. There was no use of heparin
and shipment was briefly delayed because funding had
to be wired. Under the circumstances, it went surprisingly
quickly and smoothly, but more advanced preparation would
have made a big difference.
> Special Meeting on May 21st, 2006 April 14, 2006
The Cryonics Institute is having a Special Member's Meeting on Sunday, May 21st, 2006
at 2pm at the main CI Facility at 24355 Sorrentino Court; Clinton Township, MI 48035.
The purpose of the meeting is to count proxies and votes for a change of Article X
of the By-Laws to disallow distribution of Membership Fees to Members should CI ever dissolve:
X−B.Section 10.02: DISSOLUTION
This will improve our non-profit status with the Internal Revenue Service.
> CI's 73rd Patient March 23, 2006
Our 73rd patient was not in the kind of condition we would want,
to say the least. She had been autopsied, her autopsied brain was
in her abdomen and she had spent weeks in refrigeration before being
shipped to CI in dry ice. Her son was aware that her chances for
reanimation are much worse than for the typical cryonics patient, but
he felt that a small chance is still better than no chance.
> AGM is Sunday, September 24, 2006 February 20, 2006
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Cryonics Institute
will be held Sunday, September 24, 2006 at 2pm at the main facility,
24355 Sorrentino Court, Clinton Township, Michigan 48035. The Annual
General Meeting of The Immortalist Society will immediately follow the
AGM of CI on the same Sunday. Meetings generally last most of the afternoon.
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.
> Alan Sinclair Resigns as Director January 30, 2006
Alan Sinclair has resigned his position as a Director of
the Cryonics Institute Board of Directors because of his
decision to switch his cryonics arrangements to Alcor Life
Extension Foundation. The Cryonics Institute's By-Laws
require that Directors have a Cryonic Suspension Agreement
and funding in place with CI to qualify as Board Member
http://www.cryonics.org/By_Laws.html#_IIIB_
so Alan could not remain on the Board after switching his
contract and funding to Alcor. Alan has apologized for any
embarrassment this may have caused, but he believes that
Alcor will be offering whole body vitrification in the
near future, and this is a service he desires.
The Cryonics Institute has no plans to offer whole body
vitrification to our Members in the near future, although
a form of cryoprotectant perfusion of the body in addition to
cryoprotectant perfusion of the head is anticipated shortly
for those who request it. We have regretfully accepted
Mr. Sinclair's resignation.
> CI's 72nd Patient January 17, 2006
The 72nd patient of the Cryonics Institute was an 84-year-old woman
who had been on a ventilator and had a gangrenous leg. Her son and a team
of 3 other Cryonics Institute Members living in the area provided CardioPulmonary
Support (CPS) and cooling on her for an hour after legal declaration of death.
The perfusion and cooling-box cooling went extremely well.
More details will appear in THE IMMORTALIST.
> Suspended Animation Standby can now be funded with insurance December 23, 2005
A new set of agreements have been drawn-up and signed between
Suspended Animation and the Cryonics Institute which allow CI Members
to fund Suspended Animation Standby using a life insurance policy. Details
can be found on the CI website:
http://www.cryonics.org/SA/SA_CI_Announcement.html
http://www.cryonics.org/SA/SA_documents.html
> CI's 71th Patient December 23, 2005
The 71st patient of the Cryonics Institute deanimated about noon
yesterday in Nevada. His name is John Connole and he has been a
Member of CI since 1991. John was at one time our Contracts Officer
(the person who verifies that Member contracts are completed
properly -- a position now held by Connie Ettinger). John worked
in the Aerospace Industry before he retired. He was 84 years old
at the time of his deanimation. His condition has been critical for
the last few months. Last week we were told he would last 5-10
days and his wife phone two days ago to say that he would
probably not last more than a day. He was given heparin, some
CPR and ice was packed around his head immediately after
a speedy pronouncement of death. He deanimated about noon yesterday
and we began our work on him at our funeral directors at 9am this morning.
More details will appear in THE IMMORTALIST.
> CI's 70th Patient November 22, 2005
The Cryonics Institute has received its 70th patient,
a 21-year-old man who died in an automobile accident.
In addition to suffering head injuries in the accident,
the patient was autopsied. Reportedly the patient had
spoken of wanting to be cryopreserved, without anticipating
that he would be deanimating so young. A closed-casket
funeral service was held, attended by hundreds of people,
with the casket containing ice -- a requirement to satisfy
all members of the family. Because of the condition of
the patient we did not attempt a perfusion. He has
been straight-frozen.
> Scientific Advisory Board November 8, 2005
A number of eminent scientists who are Members of the Cryonics Institute have agreed
to form a Scientific Advisory Board for CI. The names and credentials of the Board
Members can be found on the on the Cryonics Institute website:
http://www.cryonics.org/SAB.html
> Case Summary on Website August 19, 2005
On Wednesday, August 17th we placed CI's 69th patient into a cryostat after a
cooling period of nearly four-and-a-half days. A technical description
of the case is now available on the Cryonics Institute website:
http://www.cryonics.org/reports/CI69.html
> CI's New Cooling Box August 13, 2005
The Cryonics Institute now has two computer-controlled cooling boxes, a large one for
human patients and a small one for pets & testing. CI's most recent patient (the 69th)
has benefitted from both the new vitrification protocol and the new large cooling box.
Details concerning the new cooling boxes can be
found on the Cryonics Institute website:
http://www.cryonics.org/reports/Cooling_Boxes.html
> CI's 69th Patient August 12, 2005
Shortly after 6am on Friday morning the Cryonics Institute received a
call from the son of an unfunded CI Member informing us that his Member
mother had just been pronounced dead. Within 13 hours we had received
$28,000 and the patient. The patient is currently cooling to liquid nitrogen
temperature. This is CI's 69th patient, and the first patient CI has
cryopreserved in 2005. More details will be released in THE IMMORTALIST.
> Suspended Animation Standby now available to CI Members April 25, 2005
The Cryonics Institute has successfully concluded negotiations
for a contract to offer Standby and Transport assistance from the
Florida cryopreservation research company Suspended Animation, Inc.
CI Members who wish to receive these services must provide additional
funding, part of which can be through life insurance.
Details of the Standby and Transport Services Protocols and Fees can be
found on the Cryonics Institute website:
http://www.cryonics.org/SA/Suspended_Animation.html
> AGM is Sunday, September 25, 2005 April 7, 2005
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Cryonics Institute
will be held Sunday, September 25, 2005 at 2pm at the main facility,
24355 Sorrentino Court, Clinton Township, Michigan 48035. The Annual
General Meeting of The Immortalist Society will immediately follow the
AGM of CI on the same Sunday. Meetings generally last most of the afternoon.
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.
>Vitrification Protocol Used on Dog February 20, 2005
On February 10th, 2005 the Cryonics Institute vitrified
the dog of one of its Members, Kevin Boyle. Perfusion was
through the aorta, with clamping of the descending aorta.
Thus, only the upper portion of the body was perfused with
Dr. Pichugin's vitrification mixture. The Cryonics Institute
is now prepared to apply a similar procedure to its human
patients living in the United States (there are shipping
problems associated with overseas Members).
Our vitrification mixture is unsuitable for perfusing
whole bodies. We could perfuse the rest of the body with
ethylene glycol or glycerol, but to do so would compromise
the perfusion of the brain. Vitrification mixture, like all
cryoprotectants, is toxic at higher temperatures and it is
important to begin cooling immediately after perfusion to
reduce the danger of ice formation. There is also a great
risk of edema if we attempt to perfuse the whole body with
vitrification mixture. Edema could prevent perfusion and
in that case would be a costly waste of time.
We will certainly be cryopreserving the whole body.
Future technology will still be required to reverse
biochemical damage, reverse the effects of aging and to
eliminate all disease, including the damaging results
of past disease. One of our prominent Members, James
Swayze, is paraplegic and we definitely believe that if
future technology is able to reanimate him, he will be
restored to full functionality.
We strongly believe that the elimination or near-elimination
of ice in the brain is an enormous benefit for all CI Members.
Although glycerol has vitrifying (anti-freeze) properties, it
results in no less than 20% ice formation everywhere, including
the brain. Eventually our research may allow for whole body
vitrification, but we can make no guarantees. Our highest immediate
priorities are to improve washout and eliminate cold ischemia during
shipment to Michigan for administration of the vitrification
protocol. We also want to improve the vitrification protocol.
DONATIONS TO THE CI RESEARCH FUND ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
Make checks or money orders payable to The Immortalist Society
to be tax-deductable. Mail to 24355 Sorrentino Court; Clinton
Township, MI 48035 USA. Or pay by PayPal to immsoc@aol.com
or phone-in your credit card number to (586) 791-5961.
For a description of the cryopreservation of Kevin Boyle's
dog see:
Dog Thor.
> Youniverse Available on Website February 15, 2005
Robert Ettinger's new book YOUNIVERSE is now available as a PDF
document, freely available on the Cryonics Institute website.
Interested persons can access the book by clicking here:
Youniverse.
> New Cryonics Emergency Equipment January 22, 2005
Recently the Cryonics Institute acquired some new emergency cryonics
response equipment, namely a Portable Ice Bath (PIB) and an Active
Compression/DeCompression Heart-Lung Machine (ACDC Thumper). Earlier
in the year we had acquired additional manual ACDC units (Ambu-CardioPumps)
and for years we have had a standard model Michigan Instruments Thumper
available for our use.
A description of this equipment with some photographs depicting
their use can be found on the Cryonics Institute website at this link:
PIB and ACDC Equipment.
> For earlier news see Old News |