Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans with the hope that future medicine may be able to resuscitate them. The document discusses cryonics procedures and the role of Rowland Brothers Funeral Directors in London as a hub for cryonics cases in Europe, assisting American organizations with the transport and preservation of deceased members. It notes the increasing acceptance of cremation historically and suggests cryonics suspension may follow a similar trend of growing acceptance over time.

1. Cryonics in Europe.
Cryonics (from Greek κρύος
'kryos-' meaning 'icy cold') is the low-temperature preservation of animals (including
humans) who cannot be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing
and resuscitation may be possible in the future.
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Notmany Funeral Directors,Iwouldsay,take Cryonicsat all seriously. Maybe because it’san
‘AmericanThing’. Pie inthe skydreamsforgulliblepersonsof more wealththanrealisation.
Well,that’supto them,butthinkon aboutcremation.Once a curious,if notdownrightunholyidea
of leftfieldVictorians.
The firstknowncremationinthe UK was that of HonorettaBrooks Pratt at HanoverSquare in1769
(illegally)
The firstlegal cremationfollowedin1885 In Woking,one of just3 that yearwhen597,357 deaths
are recorded.The followingyear10 andin 1888 followingthe cremationof 28 personsthe
managementatWokingsawfitto add a chapel, waitingroom& otherfacilitiesformourners.
In 1968 official UKfiguresshowcremationovertookburial forthe firsttime andtodayapproximately
70% of all UK funeralsare cremation,higherstill inLondonandotherurbanareas.
So isCryonicsuspensiongoingtobe the nextcremation?Probablynot,butthose Funeral Directors
whoat leasttake time tounderstandthe processandrequirementsof Cryonicsstandtobe ‘ahead
of the game’shouldit take off,evenmodestly so.

2. In November2014 RowlandBrothersFuneral DirectorsinSouthLondonhostedameetingand
trainingsessionwithAlcorLife ExtensionFoundation of Arizona,USA. RowlandBrothers
International actasworldwide agentstobothAlcorandCryonicsInstitute USA,aswell asworkingin
partnershipwithCryonicsUK,providingaEuropeanhubforthe care of Membersrequiring
repatriationtothe States.
Until thenRowlandBrothers InternationalhadofferedrepatriationservicesforUKmembersbut,
followinganumberof difficultcasesinEurope andAsia,itbecame apparentthatusingLondonas a
‘Stagingpost’couldhelpmeetthe bestpracticessoughtbyAlcor.These requirementsare oftenin
conflictwithlocal legalitiesasseeninReunion Islandwhere anAlcorMemberhasbeenrestricted
fromleavingthe Islanddue tolocal lawsforbiddinganyformof disposal otherthanburial or
cremation.
The Novembermeetingsetoutthe ‘bestpractice’forthe preservationof the deceasedaswell as
forminga ‘RapidReactionteam’withequipmentandInfusionchemicalsbasedatRB headquarters,
London. RBI provides flyingembalmerstoaccompanyAlcorstaff to the place of deathandappoint
one of theirInternationalAgentsto make full use of local resources. Alternatively,Rowland’sstaff
will deployshouldlocal facilitiesbe limited.
So whatare the ‘BestPractices’referredtoabove?Forthose whowishtorevise thisindetail
downloadsare availableat CryonicsUK website:
http://cryonics-uk.org/index.html
CryonicsInstituteUSA

3. Unsurprisingly,the single mostimportantaimisinitial speed,notnecessarilythroughoutthe whole
process,butat the verytime of death.
Alcorprovide representationonsite toall membersworldwidewiththe intentionof beingwiththe
memberatthe momentof death.Ideallytheywouldadministerthe infusionchemicalsincluding
HeparinandEthylene Glycol atthat verymoment,shoulditbe legal.Of course,legal process can
makesthisdifficult,withDoctorsneedingtoconfirmdeathbefore anyactioncanbe taken.Thus we
try to workwiththe familyDoctor,to speedthe process,throughadvancedpreparation.
Max MorePhD CEOAlcor Life Extension Foundation.
Much of the discussionatthe Novembermeetingrevolvedaroundthisspecificissue,confirmationof
deathand the cause of death.
So,whenexactly, issomeone dead?
Deathis nowseenasa process,more thanan event:conditionsonce consideredindicativeof death
are nowreversible. Where inthe processadividingline isdrawnbetweenlifeanddeathdependson
factors beyondthe presence orabsence of vital signs.Ingeneral, clinical death isneithernecessary
nor sufficientforadeterminationof legal death.A patientwithworking heartandlungsdetermined
to be brain dead can be pronouncedlegallydeadwithoutclinical deathoccurring.As scientific
knowledge andmedicineadvance,aprecise medical definitionof deathbecomesmore problematic.
Thisis the fundamental principle of Cryonics,notonlyare we givingintooldage anddisease when,
indue course,these thingsmaybe redeemable,butare we everactuallydead?
Goingback to Cremationinthe 1890’s, one of the perceivedbenefitsoverburial wasthe elimination
of premature intermentdue tothe overlysimplistic criteriaformedical determination.AlthoughI
am not sure howbeingcrematedbefore true deathhasoccurredshouldbe ‘abenefit’

4. AaronDrake of Alcor promotesthe viewthat,aswe can neverdeterminethe exactmomentof
deathit shouldbe permissible forthe processof preparingforCryonicsuspensiontobe
incorporatedintothe medical examinationorevenfinal medical treatment.
Life or death,however,isnotthatsimple.Formostof Europe the processof registeringdeathand
the subsequenttreatmentof the deceasedcontinuallythrow upproblems.
PostMortem Examination(Autopsy) of course causesdelay,aswell astraumato the deceased,but
isoftenunavoidable.Inthe UK the Chief Coronerhasnow givenpermissionfor‘Virtual PostMortem
Examinations’aprocessof scanningthe bodyfor3D analysis,butitisexpensive.Alcorare prepared
to pay the cost of such examinations if authoritieswill allow andthe facilitiesare available.
Hopefully,thistechnologywill spreadacrossEurope.
Anotherperennialproblem,specifictoEurope, appearstobe a reluctance tofreeze the body tothe
requiredshippingtemperature of -70°C.Thisisa straightforwardprocessof usingDry Ice (Solid
CarbonDioxide) packedaroundthe body,inside the shippingcasket,overaperiodof 3-4 days.
Reasonsgivenfornotbeingable tocarry outthisprocedure include local legalrestrictions,lackof
time available before the bodymustbe shipped,andlackof facilities.Hence ithasbeendecidedto
make Londonthe Europeanhub as nosuch restrictionsapplyinLondonandwe have successfully
completedanumberof repatriationshavingloweredthe bodytemperature asdescribed.
Otherfactors inLondon’sfavourinclude co-operationfromthe USEmbassywhohave agreedto
issue transitdocumentsdespite deathoccurringoutside theirnormal jurisdictionandOperator&
carrier Variations. Restrictionsonbookable airfreightincludingthe use of Dry Ice tendto be less
exactingfromthe UK.
In 2014 RowlandBrotherslookedafterfiveCryoniccasesinEurope –if we follow the cremation
trend,withintwoyearswe will be buildingachapel andwaitingroom.
Michael.A.Gill.
10th
February2015
CryonicSuspension membership enquires:
michael@rowlandbrothers.com