Zombies have been a popular science-fiction creation for decades, and the idea of resurrection goes back even further. How can a person be revived from death? Is it morally correct for such a thing to happen? These questions are relevant yet again due to recent interest in cryonics.
Cryonics is the technique of deep-freezing a dead body with the hopes that future scientists will be able to revive and restore it to full health. The process starts while the patient is still alive. They can sign up for the procedure through a cryonics facility, paying anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a second shot at life. With this contract in place, a standby team will spring into action once a patient is pronounced legally dead, usually waiting in the hospital with the patient until it’s time. The team keeps the body stable while it is transported to the facility: supplying enough oxygen and blood to maintain minimal brain function, circulating the anticoagulant heparin to prevent blood clotting, and packing the body in ice while it is en route. A medical team awaits upon arrival [1].
The long-term preservation takes place on-site. Blood is drained from the patient and replaced with a mix of medical-grade antifreeze and organ-preserving chemicals, known as cryoprotective agents. If the body were to be placed directly in vats of liquid nitrogen the water in cells would expand to form ice crystals and the cells would be destroyed. With the added chemicals, organs and tissues are protected because the chemicals clump together in cryogenic temperatures. They form a solid that is molecularly similar to glass, and this new “glass” prevents the cells from bursting. Next, the body is cooled on a bed of dry ice until it reaches -130ºC (-202ºF). This completes the vitrification process, or the process of deep cooling without freezing, and allows cells to enter a state of suspended animation [2]. The body is finally inserted into an individual container and then placed into a large metal tank filled with liquid nitrogen at around -196ºC (-320ºF). It is stored head-down in these vats so that the brain will be most protected if there is ever a leak [3].
Currently, there are around 500 human bodies stored in vats around the world because of cryonics, with the majority being in the U.S. Major companies include the Cryonics Institute, KrioRus, Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute, and Alcor Life Extension Foundation. Alcor is the most expensive and best-known cryonics company in the U.S., charging $200,000 to handle a full human body and $80,000 to just preserve a brain (called “neuro” preservation) [3].
During the COVID-19 pandemic, these companies were forced to adopt new operating room rules. At Alcor, this looked like restricting the application of its medical-grade antifreeze solution to only the brain and leaving everything below the neck unprotected. It was also harder to reach clients quickly because of travel restrictions and limitations on hospital access [3].
Despite these more challenging circumstances, business was thriving. KrioRus and Alcor reported receiving a record number of inquiries during Covid, likely because the pandemic brought death to the forefront of people’s minds. Valeriya Udalova, chief executive of KrioRus, noted that “perhaps the coronavirus made them realize their life is the most important thing they have and made them want to invest in their own future” [3]. Jim Yount, a member of the American Cryonics Society, also commented that “something like covid brings home the fact that they are not immortal.” [3]
But how likely is it that people who “invest in their own future” by signing up for cryonics will see their money well spent? Can this process really add decades, or even centuries, to a person’s life? The quick answer is probably not. It hasn’t been proven that complex human systems can be “stored” with the help of these facilities. All we know for sure is the technology available to us right now, none of which can revive these dead bodies. In this way, the cryonics industry is built entirely on optimism since companies place the tall order of revival in the hands of future scientists.
Supporters believe death is not just the moment when the heart stops; it is a process of deterioration that humans are capable of intervening in. They generally concede there isn’t any guarantee that future science will be able to reanimate these people. Nonetheless, the odds of revival with cryonics are still better than without it. This much is certainly true: scientists can’t resuscitate a pile of ashes or bones, but at least cryonics provides a body to work with. Plus, “if you’re starting out dead, they say, you have nothing to lose.” [3]
At the same time, cryonics company websites hardly drive home the uncertainty involved in these procedures. The Alcor website advertises cryonics as “an ambulance into the future” and states that “cryonics is currently the best-known method for pausing the dying process in a way that allows for potentially restoring good health with medical technology in the future.” It also says that “cryonics sounds like science fiction, but it’s based on modern science.” [4] While the website is transparent about the procedure’s reliance on technology that doesn’t yet exist, it also advertises the success of cryonics as being only a matter of time. There are no disclaimers about the uncertainty involved or the industry’s foundations of sheer optimism. Is it misleading for websites to lack precautionary messaging? Perhaps it is within their right as private companies to advertise themselves as they wish, but it could also be considered immoral to require prospective clients to read between the lines on such important subject matter.
There are also a plethora of questions that arise when thinking about the fact that at the end of the day, these are private companies working for profit. Cryonics companies are quite literally in the business of death. Who can determine if they are acting in their client's best interest, and do they even have the incentive to do so given that the bulk of their work happens once their clients are dead? The image of these companies has already begun to tarnish, since in 2009 there were allegations that Alcor was mishandling bodies and even hastening clients’ deaths [5]. Who will hold these companies accountable in such a delicate industry?
A unique set of questions arises from assuming cryonics will be successful. Given the prohibitive pricing of these procedures, society could reach a place where wealthy people are immortal. Would this be a fair change? Wealthy people already have better access to medical care and longer life expectancies. Perhaps immortality as a result of wealth is a natural progression for society, or perhaps there is some line to be drawn as to just how much money should be able to buy.
There’s also the question of sustainability. We already struggle with overpopulation. Is it ethical to exacerbate this for our descendants by sending people from our century into the future?
On a different note, we must examine how society as a whole would be affected by mass cryopreservation. New and old generations would eventually be living together- would society be able to progress or would it be held stagnant by the continued presence of old ideas? As USC student Anu Rajendran put it, the “advancement of culture could slow down,”making cryonics detrimental to the larger society [6].
Although it is impossible to answer these ethical questions without lived experience, they are still important to consider as the cryonics industry grows. The procedure’s allure is undisputed. If successful, patients could be treated with new cures to mend an untimely death or have decades more with loved ones (if they also partake). Most ethical dilemmas wouldn’t be realized unless millions of people were choosing to be cryopreserved, but if the process were successful and affordable that could very well be the case. Thus, it is critical to consider all possible effects of the procedure as it gains popularity.
References
How Cryonics Works. (2005, January 5). HowStuffWorks. https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/cryonics.htm
Cryosleep - An Overview of Cryonics, Cryosleep and Cryotherapy. (2018, October 17). The Medical Futurist. https://medicalfuturist.com/are-you-going-to-wake-up-from-cryosleep/
Wilson, P. (2021, June 26). The Cryonics Industry Would Like to Give You the Past Year, and Many More, Back. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/26/style/cryonics-freezing-bodies.html
What is Cryonics? (n.d.). Alcor. Retrieved November 24, 2022, from https://www.alcor.org/what-is-cryonics/
News, A. B. C. (n.d.). Former Alcor Employee Makes Harsh Allegations Against Cryonics Foundation. ABC News. Retrieved November 24, 2022, from https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/alcor-employee-makes-harsh-allegations-cryonics-foundation/story?id=8764331
Rajendran, A. (2017, December 13). The Frozen-Undead: Ethical Implications of Suspended Animation and Cryonics. Viterbi Conversations in Ethics. https://vce.usc.edu/volume-1-issue-1/the-frozen-undead-ethical-implications-of-suspended-animation-and-cryonics/