Frequently Asked Questions
Basic Questions
Do you really expect people to be revived?
Yes. Future technologies for resuscitation can be envisioned that involve molecular repair by nanomedicine, highly advanced computation, detailed control of cell growth, and tissue regeneration. Many scientists are in agreement. Letter.
When will patients be revived?
It will certainly be at least 75 years, and very likely well over 100 years. Most
people recognize quite correctly that the revival phase of cryonics will not
happen in a reasonable amount of time. All (respectable) scientists agree
that cryonics is currently irreversible and that it will not become reversible
within the natural lifespan of anyone currently alive. People conclude
wrongly that cryonics does not, therefore, apply to them. But, of course,
this does not in any way disprove the effectiveness of the first phase of cryonics,
that of initial cryopreservation. Once cryopreserved, patients have all
the time in the world for technology to mature.
Has anyone ever been revived?
Certainly not. Remember that phase 2 is over a century away. It's going to be very very complicated,
far more complicated than our current crude technology could possibly handle. We can't even come
close to reviving anyone in the near future. If anyone suggests that it's might happen soon
or that it might be easy, they are simply wrong. People considering cryonics need to think very
very long term. See the Technical FAQ for a discussion of rabbit
kidneys that have been successfully revived.
Does it conflict with religion?
No. Cryonics should
not have any conflict with religion because cryonics exists in
the natural world and makes no claims about supernatural matters. It
is understandable that cryonics might not initially appeal to those who believe
strongly in an afterlife, but there is still not any direct conflict. Coma patients
frequently wake up after many years of unconsciousness, and there is no debate
about what happened to their souls. We prefer to approach cryonics as
a scientific procedure. We do not discuss religion because that is a personal
issue.
How many people have been cryopreserved?
About 180 patients are currently cryopreserved. There are also about 1200 additional people who have made arrangements of some kind to be cryopreserved.
What about fixing the diseases they died from?
The level of technology that will be required to revive patients is so high that,
by comparison, fixing diseases is a minor issue. Even the disease of aging
itself will have been long cured before any currently cryopreserved people are revived.
Is this a moneymaking scam?
No. We are a nonprofit corporation. Any money that we receive is
legally protected and may only be used for the stated purposes. The director
of Oregon Cryonics is a volunteer and does not receive any compensation. In short, all money goes
into making Oregon Cryonics stronger and is never for personal profit. Our only motivation is only
to help people survive.
Are you raising the dead?
No. It is more similar to reviving someone who has suffered a heart attack.
If it works, then they weren't really completely dead. Our definition of
death continues to evolve as we learn more about the human body. Death is
not a sudden moment, but a process that takes hours on the cellular level.
With enough technology, we can reverse and fix it. Still, it is very likely
that if someone has been dead by today's standards for more than a few hours
without any cooling, that only part of the information in their mind will be recoverable. And if it's
been more than a few days without any cooling, then they really are completely dead
in the true sense of the word.
Why would anyone want to live so long?
Life is a good and wonderful thing. As long as people feel healthy, they almost
always want to continue to live, and they nearly always find productive
ways to fill their time. It's not until disease, poverty, or mental illness set in that people
lose interest in living.
Why would anyone want to revive you?
We are depending on friends and family. Once it's possible to revive someone, most people should be revived by loved ones. And of course, there is always the cryonics organization itself which would have funds available. At some point, it will even become more expensive to keep someone in storage than to revive them.
Isn't death natural?
It has been in the past, but that doesn't mean we need to accept it. We
are taught that death is natural, is part of a cycle, is a transition, is temporary,
etc. That very harmful viewpoint must challenged relentlessly. Death
is pure evil. It is something that we should fight against with every fiber of our beings. There is nothing good about death.
If it's so obvious that it will work, then why haven't more people signed up?
People are very slow to change their core belief systems. The belief systems
of those around us play a very large role in how we ourselves believe. It's
hard to go against thousands of years of social inertia that claims that death
is normal. But science and reason will
eventually prevail.