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There will be a regular December meeting of the Alcor Board of Directors this coming Saturday, December 1. It will be held at our Scottsdale facility at 11:00 AM Arizona time. All are invited, and lunch is served afterwards.
Friends, Cryonicists, Futurists – You are invited to a CryoFeast and CatWarming party at the home of Peter & Louise Voss in Playa del Rey on Saturday, December 15th, from 3pm to 8pm.
Food & soft drinks will be provided, but you are welcome to bring some additional dishes and/or drinks. The party location is:
7828 W 81st Street
Playa del Rey, CA 90293
The Voss residence is a little difficult to find. Use this link for directions: http://www.optimal.org/directions.html.
Please RSVP to Peter at 310.822.4533.
Alcor now has a presence on Facebook and MySpace.
The Cryonics Special Interest Group on Facebook is intended to provide a medium for those interested in cryonics or other recovery and regenerative technologies to connect, share information, and coordinate geographic socials or working groups of like-minded individuals. This group includes, but is not limited to, people enrolled in cryonics programs. It is open to anyone interested in cryonics - its appearance and use in fiction, its social and environmental aspects, and the current state of this technology.
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19229333920
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/alcor_foundation
On November 3, 2007, Alcor elected Ravin Jain as its newest member to the Board of Directors.
Dr. Ravin Jain is a neurologist practicing in the Los Angeles area and also serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at the UCLA School of Medicine. He attended Northwestern University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in geology and integrated sciences. He received his M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine. At Baylor, he was a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship. He did residency training in internal medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. His neurology residency was done at the UCLA Medical Center. He also completed a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuromuscular Disease at UCLA. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He has been a suspension member of Alcor since 1989 and a member of the Alcor Medical Advisory Board since 1999.
Depressed Metabolism, the technical cryonics blog launched in early September by Aschwin and Chana de Wolf, now has its own domain name!
To receive up-to-date technical cryonics reporting, point your browser to: depressedmetabolism.com If you are interested in contributing to the blog, please contact the authors at: depressed.metabolismATgmail.com.
Non-profit organizations like Alcor depend on volunteers to improve the bottom line. Unfortunately, some of our most enthusiastic members live too far away to help out at the Alcor facility in Arizona. To rectify this situation, we are happy to announce the addition of the Volunteer Opportunities page to the website, which lists volunteer opportunities that may be completed remotely.
Please bookmark and check back frequently if you don't see an opportunity that suits your skills -- we'll be updating the list as projects move forward.
We apologize if your name was not published in this year's directory. The way we approached it was to require anyone who wanted to be included to fill out a special form, which was sent in August. Although nearly half our members filled out the form, there were several who overlooked it.
Next year, we plan to do multiple mailings, so as to minimize the chances of the form being overlooked by people who want to be included. We also plan to allow people to give "perpetual" permission for inclusion, as there are several members who are very open about their membership arrangements.
Testing of several engineering developments is underway, including the Advanced Cryoprotective Perfusion System (ACPS), the patient enclosure, and the Air Transportable Perfusion system (ATP). The ACPS, which will enable computer control of the process of perfusing the body with cryoprotectants during cryopreservation, is being incrementally tested. Control code is in place for system calibration, perfusate flow rate, vascular pressure, temperature, concentration, and mixing reservoir fluid level. The patient enclosure, which will have the ability to cool a patient following surgery, is easily able to reach -110 degrees C. We’re cooling to -100 degrees C while the patient is still in the operating room because it reduces the patient’s exposure to toxic cryoprotectant at high temperatures. The patient will be moved for second-stage cooling down to -196 degrees C at a safer handling temperature.
With some modifications to the gas flow, we are confident that, since the total cooling and insulation appear adequate, we will be able to balance the temperature and hold it.
Equipment has arrived to calibrate the ATP and replace the temporary back plate that was on display at the conference. The redesigned ATP system will significantly reduce the weight and cost of the ATP, while significantly improving its safety and ease of use.
By combining these improved pieces of equipment with an established protocol for testing the equipment and training cryonics technicians in its use, Alcor will be in a position to conduct professional training sessions in both stabilization protocols and cryoprotection at its facility in Scottsdale. A professional training system has the potential to attract new cryonics technicians, thereby greatly expanding the range of personnel available across the world for these critical, “first-responder” roles.
Renovations to Alcor’s lab spaces continue. A new protective coating was applied to the floors, the walls have been painted, and new cabinets have been installed in the cardiopulmonary bypass lab, the large animal training room, and the dry lab. Countertops will be added next. Despite the disruption caused by renovation, Chana de Wolf was able to complete three surgical training sessions in preparation for her upcoming experiments.
Additional facility improvements, including a fresh coat of paint for the building and a new layer of asphalt for the parking lot, were provided courtesy of Cryonics Property, LLC.
Clinical Readiness
Alcor has redesigned its portable ice bath (PIB) and is in the process of replicating it. Some minor modifications are being made to the original design, mostly with regard to the choice of wheels and the upper railing.
Peter Voss, Alcor’s southern California Regional Coordinator, has resigned. He continues to store the California emergency transport vehicle and stabilization supplies until a replacement is found.
One pet cryopreservation was performed on a member's beloved cat in October. Alcor now has 33 pets in its care.
An elderly, long-time member in California suffered a pair of apparent seizures recently. He was briefly hospitalized and released after a period of overnight observation. After additional tests were completed, Alcor personnel visited this member in San Diego to assess his condition. The member continues to be cared for by a close relative and Alcor will monitor his condition through close contact.
Probate Matters: The A-1097 probate is nearing conclusion, and the executor is preparing to close the estate, now that all taxes are filed and paid. Alcor has been reimbursed for the renovations made to this patient’s property, which was bequeathed to Alcor and is on the market in California.
The 7th Alcor Conference was held in early October. Of the paid registrants, 40 were members of Alcor and 43 were non-members. Total attendance was approximately 125 people, including registrants, staff, speakers, sponsors, volunteers, press and other special guests. A total of $14,500 in sponsorships was collected. The conference DVD will be professionally edited and pre-orders are now being accepted on the Alcor webstore: www.shop.alcor.org
Approximately 85 Alcor members are over 90 days past due on their membership dues. Alcor is actively attempting to reach them for payment or payment arrangements. Timely payment of membership dues is required to remain a member in good standing.
The 2007 Membership Directory was mailed out this week. Alcor took the opportunity to include a form for confirming the correct contact information for each member, which is important for ensuring we can reach them in an emergency or if their life insurance lapses, etc.
As of October 31, 2007, Alcor had 832 members, following approval of seven new memberships. Five new applicants were added, two of whom applied at the 7th Alcor Conference.
Alcor’s Tanya Jones spoke at the Foresight Vision Weekend in Sunnyvale, California, and an Alcor member handed out literature at the Calorie Restriction Society conference in San Antonio, Texas. Attendees at the Calorie Restriction Society conference are devoted to longevity, and two new applicants for membership with Alcor have resulted thus far.