Back From the Dead: Cryonics

Many say that humans cannot rise from the dead. Well, what if they probably may be able to? According to Rod Brouhard, an emergency medical technician paramedic, there are two types of death: clinical death and biological death. Both types of death mean the patient is technically dead, but each term refers to a different level of permanency. One is reversible; the other is not (Brouhard).

First off, clinical death is analogous to cardiac arrest. It is when the patient’s heart or breathing stops. Surprisingly, clinical death is somewhat reversible, and patients may be revived through the practice of cryonics. Cryonics is the practice of cooling dead organic tissue; it’s used on humans or animals that have recently died. When performing cryonics on a patient, the hope is to bring them back to life in the near future. By law, it can only be performed on individuals after they are legally presumed dead (“What is Cryonics?”). Many scientists and doctors support the practice of cryonics. However, there are several that think this practice is totally useless.

Supporters of cryonics have a glimmering hope that this practice would allow damaged tissues and organs of a dead person to be regenerated. They also believe that through cryonics, the patient’s memory and identity would remain and be stored in the patient’s brain. Brian Wowk, who has a Ph.D. in medical physics and cryobiology states that cryonics may be achieved by using a fluid that preserves brain function. This cooling fluid is constructed to save the fine cell structures of the brain where memory and identity knowledge resides. Because such fluids and techniques have already been developed or are developing, those that support cryonics have the hope that as technology advances, these tools will be able to bring people back from the dead.

On the contrary, there are also people who oppose the practice of cryonics. Generally speaking, a neuro, or head only, cryopreservation costs about $800,000, while whole-body cryopreservation, or freezing of a whole corpse, can cost at least $200,000 (“How Much”). Understanding that cryonics is an expensive process, many believe that it is a waste of time and money to invest in a practice that hasn’t been proven successful yet. Critics claim that because there is no concrete evidence that the identity and memory of a person can be restored after death, doctors and scientists shouldn’t attempt the process.

Currently, no one has been revived by cryonics, but with the hope that future technology will improve, one day, there might be a chance for disease and aging to be reversible.

References

Brouhard, Rod. “Is It Possible to Bring Someone Back From the Dead?” VeryWellHealth. 30 Aug. 2021. www.verywellhealth.com/can-people-come-back-from-the-dead-1298424. Accessed 3 Nov. 2021.

“How Much Does Cryonics Cost?” Cryonics Institute. 22 Nov. 2021 www.cryonics.org/about-us/faqs/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.

“What is Cryonics?” ALCOR. www.alcor.org/what-is-cryonics/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.

Wowk, Brian. “Cardiopulmonary Support in Cryonics.” ALCOR. www.alcor.org/library/cardiopulmonary-support-in-cryonics/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021.