Bay Area

This page is outdated. We have no plans to open a branch facility in the Bay Area.

We plan to open a branch facility in the Bay Area within a few years. Salem is a good location for our headquarters, but we need to also have a facility in a large city where there are more people. This branch facility will be expensive, but important. It will obviously allow proper care for members in the area and it will attract more members to sign up for cryonics. But far more importantly, it will provide a working environment for more full-time cryonics clinicians.

Paying for the Facility

It will be paid for mostly by local members in the Bay Area. The cost of a very basic branch facility with one or two paid staff and an equipped vehicle is about $20,000 per month.

Monthly dues would be one way to pay for the facility, but the ability of different people to pay varies greatly. Student, family, and senior discounts can help somewhat, but they don't really solve the problem because people can be struggling financially for many other reasons. Monthly dues also fall short of the amount needed. If there are 100 members in an area, and each is paying $600/year in dues, that would only cover about 1/4 of the cost. There are simply not enough people interested in cryonics to fully pay for a facility using dues.

Without economies of scale, the major progress in cryonics has tended to come from wealthy individuals who directly invested in cryonics because they wanted these services for themselves. This unfortunate state of affairs is likely to continue for quite some time. Financing the Bay Area facility will require many regular donors, but it will probably also require at least a few donors who can each commit to about $5000 per month. Finding people who are willing to ramp up to this level of monthly commitment is no small task.

We see this as a very gradual iterative process. Nobody will make donations to a non-existent facility. It also takes time for people to get comfortable with their donation level and to develop the enthusiasm necessary to increase their donation level over time. Members must feel like they are receiving individual benefits proportional to the amount they are paying. We will request regular monthly donations from all local members, but leave it up to each individual to decide what amount they are comfortable with.

There are many paths we can take to get to a state of full readiness. Here is one example of a series of phases that would accomplish this goal:

Phase 1

We establish a presence in the Bay Area without much financial outlay. We set aside some indoor space for storing supplies and equipment. We showcase our Oregon vehicle from time to time to generate local interest for Standby services.

Phase 2

Purchase a dedicated California vehicle and gradually increase its capability. We can't generally leave any Oregon vehicles in California long-term due to the laws surrounded licensing, insurance, etc.

Phase 3

Hire a part-time staff person.

Phase 4

Add more equipment and supplies.

Phase 5

Hire a full-time clinician.

This will all take many years of regular investment. The big payoff comes when clinicians are finally attracted and hired full-time. This goal could easily take a lifetime. Every year without a local facility and clinician is another year wasted.