History of cryonics: различия между версиями

''- B. FRANKLIN.''</blockquote>

The cryonics movement began in 1962 with the publication of two books: [[#Books|The Prospect of Immortality]] by [[Robert Ettinger]]; the first non-fiction book to seriously consider and advocate cryonics, and the privately-published [[#Books|Immortality: Physically, Scientifically, Now]] by [[Evan Cooper]], which also advocated cryonics, under the name of a "freezing program". The former reached the masses in 1964 when reprinted and distributed by Doubleday following a suggestion by science-fiction author Isaac Asimov.

<blockquote>''"The stench near the crypt is disarming, strips away all defenses, spins the stomach into a thousand dizzying somersaults."'' - Walker, David: "Valley Cryonic Crypt Desecrated, Untended." Valley News newspaper, June 1979.</blockquote>

After [[#James Hiram Bedford, Dr.|James Bedford]] was cryopreserved, [[Robert Nelson]] looked for a cooperative mortician for future cases. In September of the same year, he received a letter from Joseph Klockgether, in reply to an ad placed in [http://www.abbottandhast.com/mm.html Mortuary Management magazine]. Nelson replied, claiming he had received offers from 147 mortuaries, but Mr. Klockgether's letter had caused such an impression on him that he had chosen him.

In September of 1968, [[#Russell Stanley|Russell Stanley]] (The most 'gung-ho cryonicist' Nelson had ever known) died of a heart attack. He was frozen after 24 hours of ischemia; and left behind a substantial sum of money (Between $5,000 and $10,000, according to different sources). He was the third patient to be stored in dry ice at Mr. Klockgether's mortuary, while Nelson used the funds to build a [[#Long Term Storage|storage]] facility. At this point, Mr. Klockgether was insisting that Nelson finish his facility, since a California mortuary license only allows temporary storage of dead persons. "Get your facility built, Bob." He recalled saying in a later interview "Build the facility, Bob. I have to get these people out of here!".

In 1969, the facility remained incomplete; yet Nelson gave an interview to [[#Cryonics Reports|Cryonics Reports magazine]] claiming it already existed. He claimed patients were stored in containers 14 feet in diameter (pictured), capable of holding 15 to 20 people. Each of these patients, he claimed, were stored in pods "very similar to the units that were used in ''2001: A Space Odyssey''," and were "moved by a series of stainless steel cables that guide them into position, and they can be introduced and retrieved at will". It should be noted that the picture in the magazine, besides being fake, was of a tank destined to the storage of bulk nitrogen, and could not possibly have stored cryonics patients.

== 1972 - 1981 ==

In 1972, Alcor was founded as a response team for the [[#Cryonics Society of California|Cryonics Society of California]].

In the early 70's, a Bay Area mathematics grad student named Art Quaife, along with electrical engineer John Day and other cryonicists, decided to form [[#Trans Time|Trans Time, Inc.]]. TT's focus was to reboot cryonics as a legitimate business and medical practice. Their perfusion equipment was purchased from [[#Manrise Corporation|Manrise Corporation]] and they developed the first complete business model of cryonics, and were the first to undertake the effort of clarifying legal issues surrounding the practice. They were also the first to actively market cryonics.

Facilities for perfusion and storage were set up in Northen California, on the same year of the first scientific human cryopreservation, that of [[#Ray Mills|Ray Mills]] (pictured). This first step showed the need for research and animal testing in cryonics: The image shows severe edema, due to the use of [[#DMSO|DMSO]] in the perfusion. Dimethyl sulfoxide has excellent cellular permeability, allowing it to cryopreserve the most tissue; however, a factor that was unknown to them was that it caused severe edema, which in turn worsens perfusion by constriction of the blood vessels.

== 1981 - 1991 ==

Cryonics as practiced in the eighties reached a standard of care (If not cryoprotection, considering that Glycerol was still being used) comparable (If not exceeding) that of mainstream medicine. All of this lasted until September of 1991.