Chana de Wolf recently announced her resignation as Alcor’s Research Associate. Chana was hired in July 2006 to build Alcor’s cardiopulmonary bypass laboratory, a project that is now largely complete. Chana was originally hired as a temporary employee, and we are pleased that she was able to stay longer than we initially expected.
We appreciate Chana’s efforts during her employement at Alcor and wish her well in her endeavors. A replacement is being actively sought.
We have ordered fourteen ice bath frames, which once constructed, will bring our ice bath inventory to 16. These new design icebaths fold into a package that is transportable by air, but is inexpensive and rapid to assemble. This is the first step, and one of the longest manufacturing lead-time items, in building our new stabilization kits.
The new cabinetry and counters (with the exception of a few handles) are completed and in use. This upgrade significantly increases storage and lab counter space (about doubling it). This was a much needed upgrade given the increased tempo of laboratory work.
See pictures in the extended entry.
After tests with the cold stage of the new perfusion system, the cold
stage has been returned to the manufacturer for modification or possible
replacement. While it was cooling deep enough, it was not fast enough or
even enough for our purposes. The modifications will allow larger volume
and faster gas flow. Additional changes are being made to the wiring
bus of the Advance Cryoprotection System.
The new ATP system has been successfully tested with liquid. We are
currently going through an iterative process of packing it in a
shipping case along with the required perfusate. Indications are, as
we had hoped, we will be able to include the entire system in one
shipping case.
Financial
We collected a donation of $10,000 to redesign our stabilization kits and a $25,000 directed donation for Mike Perry to conduct a preliminary investigation into chemopreservation for cryonics purposes.
We also received an unrestricted donation of $50,000 from a member who wishes to support Alcor’s operations. It is unusual for us to receive unrestricted donations in this amount, and we appreciate this member’s support.
The names of the all donors are confidential.
Membership
On December 31, 2007, Alcor had 838 members on its Emergency Responsibility List. Six memberships were approved during this month, one membership was reinstated, one membership was cancelled and no members were cryopreserved. Overall, there was a net gain of six members.
Applicants
At the end of this month Alcor had 54 applicants for membership.
22 new applicants were added, seven applicants were converted to members and no applicants were cancelled, resulting in a net gain of 15 applicants for this month.
Information Packets
159 info packs were mailed this month and 13 were handed out during facility tours or from special request. The average total of 129 info packs sent per month in 2007 is compared to 164 in 2006.
New Patient
One of our members, A-1864, was involved in a homicide on January 1, 2008. He was the victim, and we spent several days involved in difficult negotiations for his release from the Medical Examiner’s office. Because of the circumstances of death, a complete autopsy was required. We did negotiate for early release of his brain. The patient’s body was delivered after the Medical Examiner completed the necessary investigation.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 2, 2008, at the Alcor facility (7895 East Acoma Drive in Scottsdale, AZ) at 11:00 AM (MST).
Members and the public are encouraged to attend.
When the Alcor management changed in September 2005 to the current team, we developed a new policy of not talking about what grand plans we have for the organization, instead choosing to talk about things that we have completed. We implemented this policy change because the management team (consisting of Steve Van Sickle, Jennifer Chapman, and myself) were disappointed members. We were all weary of the empty promises, the distinct lack of improvement in technical capability and the lack of responsible fiscal oversight. We very deliberately set out to rebuild Alcor into an organization of which we could be proud, and we were enthusiastic about bringing positive change. Though it is a lengthy process, in my opinion we are succeeding, and we’d like to present a little perspective on the changes of late and on the challenges yet ahead.
A new scholarly paper has been published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology, reporting on work conducted here at Alcor by Dr. Sergey V. Sheleg and Hugh Hixon. The paper is available online:
Stability and Autolysis of Cortical Neurons in Post-Mortem Adult Rat Brains
It consists of a histological study of rat brains after prolonged global ischemia (such as results from cardiac arrest), something rarely studied in the scientific literature but of great importance to cryonics. A more detailed review of the paper is available on the website of the Institute for Evidence-Based Cryonics here.
Wish you could have attended the 2007 conference? Don’t worry . . . the conference will come to you! The 2007 Alcor Conference DVD set is now in production and will be available soon! This 2 DVD set will include a tour of the Alcor facility AND intriguing presentations with Q&A sessions for the following conference speakers:
• Steve Bridge: Why We Are Here and Where We Are Going
• Brian Wowk, PhD: Common Questions about Cryobiology and Cryonics
• Stephen Van Sickle: Research Directions at Alcor
• Tanya Jones: Improving Cryopreservation Technology at Alcor
• Ralph Merkle, PhD: Molecular Nanotechnology and the Repair of Cryopreserved Patients
• Michael West, PhD: Immortal Cells: The Prospect of Regenerative Medicine
• Aubrey de Grey, PhD: Is it Politically Safe for a Biologist to Support Cryonics Publicly?
• Ralph Merkle, PhD; Michael Seidl, PhD, JD; Stephen Van Sickle; Brian Wowk, PhD: Alcor board panel
• David Crippen, MD; Tanya Jones; Leslie Whetstine, PhD; Aschwin de Wolf: Human Cryopreservation and Critical Care Medicine Panel
• Steven Harris, MD: Rapid Hypothermia Induction Methods and Brain Oxygen Requirements in Resuscitation and Cryonics
• Calvin Mercer, PhD: Cryonics and Religion: Friends or Foes?
• Christine Peterson: Life Extension: Good News, Bad News, Surprising News
• Chris Heward, PhD: The Kronos Longitudinal Aging Study: The Measurement of Human Aging.
For a limited time only receive your DVD Set at our special pre-order rate of $39.95 plus shipping and handling. Order online at: www.shop.alcor.org or call 1-877-462-5267 ext 101.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, January 5, 2008 at the Alcor facility (7895 East Acoma Drive in Scottsdale, AZ) at 11:00 AM (MST). Members and the public are encouraged to attend.